Wake me up when February ends.
The 2025 Pre-Season Challenge finishes this weekend – and let’s hope it is the last one.
Hands up if you seriously enjoyed watching what was dished up the past few days?
Hands up if you knew more than three players who were thrown into the action after half-time in any of the games?
It is a painful watch, yet one that will end with the NRL handing over a $100,000 cheque to the winner.
Yes, $100,000 – for winning two Mickey Mouse games at the start of the year. That’s half what the minor premiers receive for being the best team throughout 27 gruelling rounds.
Clint Gutherson enjoyed a win on debut for the Dragons.Credit: Getty Images
The tournament was introduced at the start of 2023, basically to help generate buzz among fans and provide one of the game’s broadcasters, Fox Sports, with extra content.
But the lure of a cash prize has done little to convince clubs to go all out.
Fans will be charged upwards of $40 to head to Leichhardt Oval on Friday to watch Manly without Tom Trbojevic, Daly Cherry-Evans, Luke Brooks or Haumole Olakau’atu, to name a few, against a third-string Penrith team. With their entire NRL team due to fly to Las Vegas a day earlier, who knows who the Panthers will field.
This masthead discussed possible alternatives with players, coaches and high-performance staff from various clubs, with a simple solution proposed – play just one trial, preferably in a country town.
Meantime, here are five reasons the NRL needs to pull the plug on the Pre-Season Challenge.
Jam-packed calendar
The push for international rugby league to become a permanent fixture at the end of the year means the calendar has become too long. Something has to give.
The game’s best players who represent Australia, New Zealand, England and the Pacific nations are slogging it out until early November. Under the terms of the game’s collective bargaining agreement, senior stars are entitled to up to 10 weeks’ annual leave – and if they are playing Test football into November, do not return to their clubs until the new year.
Wests Tigers fielded a team stuffed with no-names against Canterbury on Sunday.Credit: Getty Images
It is a big ask to have them up and running six weeks later for a trial. But the absence of household names detracts from the Pre-Season Challenge.
Training standards have improved
Sports science plays a big role at every NRL club, and training programs are now designed to simulate game situations.
If you watch enough training sessions, you realise there is a purpose behind every attacking and defensive drill. Gone are the days of players running endless laps and dropping weights in gyms.
It obviously works because the standard of football in the first round is excellent. So do we really need trials?
Give All Stars a day in the summer sun
By dumping the Pre-Season Challenge, the Indigenous All Stars and Maori All Stars becomes the only show in town, and would receive the media coverage and support from clubs it deserves.
Kalyn Ponga takes a hit-up for the Maori All Stars on Saturday nightCredit: Getty Images
Saturday’s game, won Maori 10-6 by the Maori, lacked attacking flair, but some of the defensive efforts were nothing short of outstanding.
This game means so much to the players. It should not have to share the day with two other televised club trials. Clubs might also be more inclined to release their players for the All Stars if the February calendar is clear.
Take the trials to the bush
There were fantastic scenes in Toowoomba on Saturday when the 6,805 fans watched the Broncos put a cricket score on the Titans.
There was a huge crowd in Toowoomba for the Broncos weekend trialCredit: Getty Images
There will be close to 10,000 fans in Mudgee on Saturday when South Sydney and St George Illawarra contest the time-honoured Charity Shield.
Surely watching a trial game in a packed country venue is more visually appealing than thousands of empty seats for double-headers in Sydney. Playing two games at the one venue keeps costs down.
At least one NRL coach believes all trials should be taken to the country – and Mudgee mayor Des Kennedy is all for it.
Kennedy said the Charity Shield had a rich history and generally featured the best players, which made it a worthwhile investment for his central western NSW town.
While Kennedy said local councils would not make any money by paying for NRL trials to be played in their backyard, there was nothing stopping clubs and the NRL taking pre-season games to them.
“We should be looking after country football,” Kennedy said.
End the scheduling farce
The Pre-Season Challenge draw is a bit of a joke when you consider Penrith will be asked to play their second trial 24 hours after their entire premiership team flies out for Las Vegas.
It is not Penrith’s fault. Manly also lose out because their final tune-up will be against a bunch of lower-graders.
Then you have Wests Tigers, who back up at Leichhardt on Friday just five days after their first trial. Those players involved in the first trial will do next to nothing on the training paddock this week.
It does not make any sense. Nor does keeping the Pre-Season Challenge.
