Dolphins welcome new coach for season 2026

The Redcliffe Dolphins will usher in a new Hostplus Cup coach for 2026 and beyond, as current mentor Eric Smith prepares to depart the club at season’s end.

In a proud moment for the Dolphins, Smith has earned himself an opportunity as an assistant coach with an NRL club after just one year at the helm of Redcliffe.

Smith, who was originally signed until the end of 2026, informed Redcliffe CEO Scott Clark and the Dolphins board earlier this year of this opportunity to develop his coaching career and leaves with the full support of the club.

In his place, premiership-winning coach and current Redcliffe assistant, Dave Elliott, will step up to take over the reins of the Hostplus Cup squad from November.

Elliott and Smith

Clark said while the news was unexpected, he is excited to see someone of Elliott’s calibre take over from Smith.

“It came out of the blue when Eric advised me of the offer he had,” Clark said.

“But it’s also not a surprise that he would receive another opportunity at the next level. He is a quality coach who knows the game well. He will be an asset to his new club.

“He has made a great impact in a short space of time and we thank him for that.

“It’s exciting to know we have Dave ready to step into the role. He is a great replacement who is not only a proven quality coach but a quality person.”

For Smith, who has previously worked in NRL coaching systems at the Melbourne Storm and Newcastle Knights, it is a bittersweet departure, as he had no intention of leaving Redcliffe before the opportunity came along.

“The main thing was that I wasn’t looking for something,” Smith said.

“I was quite happy staying with the Dolphins and the contract I had. I really enjoyed our time here.

“But I was approached out of the blue by an NRL club… the goal always was to get back into that level or position again at some point.

“The first thing is that I appreciate that Clarky and the board were very supportive of me being able to pursue that. They were very understanding.”

Smith has full faith in his assistant Elliott to continue Redcliffe’s success in the Queensland Rugby League’s premier competition.

Elliott holds an impressive resume, including one Hostplus Cup premiership and a history-making win at the NRL State Championships last year, breaking a nine-year drought for the QRL.

Smith said when he came to Redcliffe at the end of last year for pre-season and heard Elliott was available, he had no hesitation in reaching out to him once one of his own assistants had to depart the Dolphins.

“He achieved everything he could last year,” Smith said of Elliott.

“I reached out to him, we had a really good conversation and he was a good, genuine guy with a lot of football knowledge.

“When it came up with me leaving, it was a pretty easy decision that we had a ready-made replacement, already at the club for a season, who knew the players and knew the lay of the land.

“It’s a really seamless transition now. He’s a really experienced coach. They’re in a really good spot there.”

Elliott – who will also get to work with NRL Dolphins head coach Kristian Woolf through their pathways systems – said it was an easy decision to accept the offer from Redcliffe.

“From my end, it wasn’t something I was expecting because Eric was signed for two years but I’m glad he’s got his opportunity and I’m grateful for the opportunity to take over as head coach,” Elliott said.

“The biggest thing for me that I’ve noticed since arriving at the Dolphins is the professionalism.

“The players certainly don’t want for anything that helps them be at there best from week to week. But it’s more so the people who are in the inner sanctum that make it that way. People that care about the club and want the club to be successful. The professionalism of the club is second to none, in my opinion.

“This role is the best of both worlds. I’m looking forward to being back in a head coaching role and everything that goes with that.

“But also having that opportunity to work in the NRL system, where you have hands-on experience with an NRL squad, that’s a point of difference.

“It will no doubt help my coaching. You learn the little things, particularly the detail of the skill development across all areas.

“You hope you’re always learning and if you’re not, that’s certainly not a good thing.”

Despite the news of the impending changes, both Smith and Elliott are fully committed to Redcliffe’s ongoing 2025 campaign.

The Dolphins will play their final regular round match this Saturday against the Mackay Cutters, before hopefully progressing into another finals series.

Currently sitting in sixth on the Hostplus Cup ladder, Smith wants to see the team continue their recent winning form from their victory over the Townsville Blackhawks in Round 22.

“We’ve got no distractions heading into what’s hopefully going to be finals now,” Smith said.

“There’s no outside noise and we’re solely focused on this year and going as deep as we possibly can.

“Hopefully from the result against the Blackhawks we can gain a fair bit of confidence.”

Elliott echoed Smith’s sentiments and said despite his excitement for the future, the Dolphins still have a job to do this year.

“For both of us, we’ve got a lot of experience come finals,” Elliott said.

“Our focus, we know where it needs to be and that will certainly be on the back end of the year and the squad as we push forward into finals.

“We’re zeroing in on what lies ahead.”