The disappointment was palpable after the Dolphins lost their maiden preliminary final but coach Kristian Woolf insists his side can go at least one better next season despite the exit of several stars.
Winger Jamayne Isaako (Melbourne), five-eighth Kodi Nikorima (St George Illawarra), lock Ray Stone (retired) and Wests Tigers-bound centre Jake Averillo will all depart at the end of the season.
But after the Dolphins' 36-20 grand final qualifier loss to Sydney Roosters at Suncorp Stadium on Friday, Woolf was adamant his team had not yet reached their peak.
"I don't think we have hit our ceiling yet," he said.
"I look at our performances this year, and we have had some really good ones, but I don't think we hit our absolute peak during the year.
"We have had patches but we had eight wins in a row, lost two, won another eight in a row and lost tonight.
"That shows that we are building consistency and learning how to win in different ways.
"That is not something we have been able to do in previous years so I have no doubt we are on the up."
Woolf said the Roosters deserved their win while admitting his Dolphins were below their best on Friday night.
Their tryline defence, so solid and gritty in the past two months, leaked three soft tries, while co-captain Isaiya Katoa suffered an early ankle injury and battled on but wasn't able to find his best.
Bench impact man Kurt Donoghoe, voted the best in his position by his peers in 2026 after making the Rugby League Players Association dream team, made uncharacteristic errors in attack and defence when he came on.
He will only learn from the experience, as will the rest of the squad after the club's first finals campaign.
Woolf said he had "a lot of faith in the young guys coming through", in particular Tevita Naufahu (winger), Brian Pouniu (centre/second-rower), John Fineanganofo (utility) and Lewis Symonds (second row), who all debuted this year.
To add to the mix, England five-eighth George Williams will join the club as a straight swap for Nikorima.
In four years of existence, the Dolphins have made quite a splash - as evidenced by their sold-out preliminary final.
"To get 52,00 people here, all red ... it was an outstanding night for the club, one game short of a grand final," Woolf said.
"There are so many things to be positive about."
Co-captain Tom Gilbert said the squad was "definitely motivated" to step it up in 2027.
"We wanted to be there next week," he said. "The realisation in the group is that we have a great squad that can do that.
"It is a disappointed change room at the moment, but I know with the right pre-season we can propel this into a better season next year."
