After being at the helm of three consecutive Super League title wins at St Helens, new Dolphins assistant coach Kristian Woolf has a long-term view with his NRL head coaching aspirations.
Woolf has taken a step back to go forward at the Dolphins but said being part of a new club from the outset, working with head coach Wayne Bennett and being able to develop players from under-sixes to the NRL under the one umbrella all appealed.
The 47-year-old coached Saints to grand final wins from 2020-22 and to Challenge Cup final victory in 2021.
Woolf has also helped turn Tonga into a global force in rugby league in his eight years in charge of the Pacific nation side.
There were approaches from NRL clubs about becoming a head coach but he knocked them back to be assistant to Bennett until the 72-year-old moves on at the end of 2025.
Woolf - who also coached the Townsville Blackhawks to a Queensland Cup grand final and has had assistant NRL roles at Brisbane and Newcastle - is keen to continue his rugby league education under Bennett.
"I have still got plenty of things that I can learn," Woolf said. "I really enjoyed my time in England and we had a lot of success.
"There are things I learned there that I would like to put in place here and that I think can work here, but at the same time ... there is no one better than Wayne Bennett to learn under.
"I am really looking forward to seeing what makes him different and special as a coach."
Woolf is following the example set by Jason Demetriou, who joined South Sydney as assistant before being appointed the Rabbitohs' head-coach-in-waiting before Bennett left.
Woolf has the same deal with the Dolphins, and said he is happy to wait.
"I have always wanted to be patient," he said.
"If we (coaches) work hard and are in good systems and do a good job we are going to get an opportunity at some stage.
"It is important when you get the opportunity to make it work.
"Wayne does do things different to everyone else and that is part of the reason he has had so much success.
"Hopefully that helps me when I do get the opportunity to be able to stay a bit longer (as head coach), and also make it a success."
