Dolphins warhorse Max Plath returned three weeks early from an ACL and now he has no intention of giving up his starting spot.
A huge selection headache looms for Dolphins coach Kristian Woolf in the coming weeks but for now Plath is just happy to be back after getting through his first NRL game in nine months at hooker in the 18-14 win over the Gold Coast last week.
"The body feels good," Plath said ahead of Saturday night's away clash with Cronulla.
"I only played 40 minutes. I normally feel like I've just come out of a car crash. It was a goal of mine to get back early."
Plath had ruptured an ACL as a youngster and knew what the recovery looked like, but his first game back for Redcliffe in the Queensland Cup a fortnight ago was no breeze.
"I was very nervous. That was pretty scary for me," Plath said.
"I had to get through some work and put the knee in some awkward positions. I did that the first couple of tackles and got that out of the way."
Regular Dolphins hooker Jeremy Marshall-King (meniscus) is out until round seven and utility Kurt Donoghoe (hamstring) could return as soon as next week. Donoghoe was slated to play hooker before he was injured, but Plath is not aiming to revert to a bench role.
"I prefer to start," Plath said.
"I like the first exchanges of the game in the first 20 minutes where it is fast and physical. I am sure Kurt likes it too but that is Woolfy's headache.
"Kurt is a great player and deserves to be back in the team … hopefully by next week."
Plath has also shone previously at lock for the Dolphins but that spot is taken by England international Morgan Knowles, who has made 89 tackles in his first two NRL games.
"I have a lot of respect for Morgan and it is good to be beside him. We both play pretty similar. We both go mad for as long as we can," Plath grinned.
The upcoming Multicultural Round of the NRL will feature players of 66 different heritages and Dolphins centre Jake Averillo is proud to represent his Zimbabwean background.
"My grandfather on my mum's side is full Zimbabwean. It used to be called Rhodesia," Averillo said.
"He came over when he was 18 and never went back. One day I would like to go there on a safari."
Dolphins prop Thomas Flegler (ribs) did not train on Wednesday but will be reassessed at Friday's captain's run for the Sharks showdown.
