Kerr unsure of Dolphins future despite Origin call-up
Joel Gould |
Dolphins prop Josh Kerr feels like he is on borrowed time at the club as he prepares to finish the season “all guns blazing” to earn a new deal.
The off-contract 29-year-old has been in career-best form in 2025, so much so that he was in the Queensland extended squad for the State of Origin decider.
The former St George Illawarra forward is right at home in Redcliffe, where he grew up as a Dolphins junior, and wants to stay. That aspiration is yet to be realised.
“I am not too sure,” Kerr said when asked if he would be a Dolphin in 2026.
“Being back in this Origin arena certainly helps.
“I would love to stay at the Dolphins.
“The situation with our club is a lot different to others. There are a lot of blokes on top-echelon money and unfortunately at the moment they are injured.
“I’ll be honest. If we had guys like Tom Flegler, Tom Gilbert, Max Plath and Daniel Saifiti playing, I’m not sure where I do fit in.
“I took a massive pay cut to come back home, and the big reason was to test myself. I wasn’t in the team at the start of the year, but circumstances got me in. It is a good feeling to be playing every week, but I feel like I am on borrowed time in a sense.
“I have my first bub on the way and my family is all here. I have to go out there all guns blazing. Woolfy (coach Kristian Woolf) has got the best out of me. He said he wants me there next year.”
Over his career, Kerr’s game has been built around his attack with quick play-the-balls and offloads, but he said this was his best year for a different reason.
“I had put all my eggs in that attack basket, but this year I am getting the same feeling out of making my defence a priority,” he said.
“That has taken my game to another level. I have never played finals football, so I wanted to change some things this year and found my way back into this Origin arena. I am proud of myself.”
When Maroons coach Billy Slater tried to call Kerr to tell him he was 20th man, he got a very typical response from one of the funniest and most engaging players in the NRL.
“I have to tell you the story of how he picked me. We had played South Sydney on the Saturday and we had a drink with our team on Sunday,” Kerr grinned.
“I was cross-eyed. Hammer (Hamiso Tabuai-Fidiow) came up to me and said, ‘look at your phone’. I looked and there was a message from Billy Slater to call him back. I called and he said, ‘it’s Billy’. I said, ‘shut up, this is not Billy Slater’. He spent 45 minutes trying to convince me it was him.
“When I realised I was in (the squad) I had to get in a cab and get home.
“It is a privilege to be here because I thought the door had closed on me in this arena. I am treating it as my last ever camp. I don’t know if I will get this opportunity again, although I will always try.”
AAP
