The NRL’s pre-season kicks off in only 16 days and a whopping $100,000 payday is on the line for the 18 teams competing.
All 17 NRL clubs, as well as debutants the Dolphins, as well as Super League champions St Helens, will take part in the pre-season challenge, facing both the Dragons and Panthers.
While the competition is set to be littered with rising stars and some of the game’s most exciting talent — NRL bosses have thrown a few curveballs into the mix.
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The points system will see teams awarded 12 points for a win, and six for a draw, with several ways to score bonus points ensuring no contest is a dead rubber.
If a team scores five or more tries, they earn one extra bonus point, whilst earning the same amount for five or more linebreaks and 10 or more offloads.
Therefore, the maximum a team can score with a win is 15 points, while three points are still on offer for the losing side — with draws awarded if teams are level on points at the end of 80 minutes.
The NRL will also allow clubs to field as many as 28 players in the first week of the pre-season challenge, and 26 in the second — with unlimited interchanges.
The reigning premiers, the Panthers, will take on St Helens in the World Club Challenge in the second week of pre-season.
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In this clash, teams will be able to earn points as per the pre-season rules, however squads will only stretch to 17 players with an 18th player named as an head injury replacement should two or more players fail a HIA.
In the event of a tie after all games are completed, a system has been laid out to ensure the pre-season challenge will always have a victor.
The team with the highest points differential will stake the money home, but in the event teams are still level it comes down to a percentage.
The winner becomes the team with the greater percentage of points scored for and against, from tries and goals.
If somehow there is still a deadlock at the top of the ladder, the winner is decided by these statistics, in order — most tries, scores, most goals kicked, most field goals kicked, least amount of penalties conceded — and ultimately, the toss of a coin.
