Francis Molo made the move up to Redcliffe after being granted a release from his contract from St George Illawarra.
The former Queensland representative was involved in a bitter dispute with the Dragons before finally being granted his request to leave after falling out with a member of staff at the Sydney club.
The Phins quickly pounced to sign the veteran forward and strengthen their pack with Tom Flegler’s injury issues continuing to rumble on.
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Why Frank Molo isn’t playing for the Dolphins after his Dragons exit
Kristian Woolf has resisted the urge to throw Molo straight into his winless side though ahead of their Round 5 meeting with Gold Coast.
Instead, he has stuck solid with his usual pairing of Daniel Saifiti and Felise Kaufusi up front, while support off the bench will be provided by Mark Nicholls, Ray Stone and Kenny Bromwich.
In the meantime, the Phins will attempt to get their first win on the board against the Titans with an eye on adding Molo to their rotation in the coming weeks.
The 30-year-old did not train with the Red V during his dispute which has left him short of match fitness.
"He hasn’t trained and has only done his own training," Woolf explained.
"He hasn’t done anything with a team for eight or nine weeks, so we need to make sure we protect him a little bit.
"I don’t think it would be fair on him or anyone to throw him in straight away. But how long that takes, I’m not sure."
Molo has been named to start for the Central Queensland Capras against the Townsville Blackhawks this weekend in the QLD Cup.
This will provide him with the opportunity to build his match fitness away from the glare of the NRL spotlight before being called upon.
Meanwhile, the prop has signed with the Dolphins until the end of the 2026 season.
"We are very pleased that Frank will be joining the Dolphins," Woolf said at the time of his signing.
"This is really an opportunity that has just fallen into our laps, but we are very glad that it has.
"Frank is a player that I know as I have worked with him before, and he will bring some power and impact to our squad."