Ray of sunshine for Gilbert as ACL exile nears Phinale

The Queensland forward ruptured an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee in last February's pre-season trial against the Warriors and developed a blood clot in his leg that later transferred to his lung, which delayed surgery until May.

In 2023 he only played 11 NRL games before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury while representing the Maroons.

Gilbert gave a poignant quote when he spoke in May last year just days before going under the knife.

"What is going to make me ready for next year is having the right attitude and attacking this rehab with a good work ethic," he said.

Rugged forward Stone, who missed all but three matches of the 2022 season with an ACL tear when at Parramatta, said Gilbert had walked the talk.

"He is obviously very mentally strong to come back after spending so long on the sideline but he is so professional with everything he does," Stone said.

"The way he trained and rehabbed himself he made sure he had stuff to look forward to along the way. That definitely helped him. He's got a strong mindset … a tough dude.

"His (injury) was a lot worse than mine. He missed out the season before, got back and had to go through all that with his knee. I was more trying to be there for him as a mate.

"They are long stints on the sideline and it is hard to watch the boys all the time knowing you could be out there. It has been a long road for him but he has done all the hard work and all the right stuff.

"Tom leads by his actions. It is going to be massive for us having him out there. He is a talented player as well, so definitely a big bonus."

The Dolphins have a ding-dong battle going for forward positions. Stone, who will play against the Titans, is in contention for a bench spot in round one against South Sydney. It is a log-jam with players including Max Plath, Mark Nicholls, Josh Kerr and Kenny Bromwich all in the mix.

"It is good having competition. Wherever I fit in the team I will do my job," Stone said.

The Dolphins are fresh from a 50-8 annihilation of North Queensland, in which train-and-trial prop Josh Allen had a blinder, and the entire side clicked.

"They all put their hands up," Stone said.

"It has been a really hard pre-season and having gone through it with them you know everyone that comes in is going to do a good job."