Share and Follow
Anthony Seibold has been handed a brutal start to his stint as Manly coach, with the Sea Eagles copping one of the most difficult draws of any club for next season – and the NRL has broken new ground with plans for an 18-team pre-season tournament to kick off the year’s footy.
Still reeling from their nightmare end to 2022, Manly could have done with a friendly schedule to start their time under Seibold.
Instead, they will play 13 games against last year’s top-eight teams, including facing Penrith, Parramatta and Cronulla twice.
Anthony Seibold (pictured) has been handed a brutal start to his stint as Manly coach, with the Sea Eagles copping one of the most difficult draws of any club for next season. They will play 13 games against last year’s top-eight teams, including facing Penrith, Parramatta and Cronulla twice
Brisbane’s draw also looks difficult for the 2023 season. With Kevin Walters in the final year of his contract, the Broncos face a league-high 14 matches against last year’s finalists
In a further blow, they have been handed an early season bye in round two, when players are fresh.
Manly lost their final seven games last year, but will at least have Tom Trbojevic back fit for their opener against Canterbury on March 4, assuming all goes to plan.
Of all the NRL’s sides, only Brisbane’s draw looks more difficult.
With Kevin Walters in the final year of his contract, the Broncos face a league-high 14 matches against last year’s finalists.
Commercially they have also taken a hit with fellow southeast Queensland club the Dolphins’ entry to the competition, with their number of free-to-air games shrinking from 17 to 13.
The Sharks have enjoyed the rub of the green, with 10 games planned against last year’s finalists and only one clash with Penrith and Parramatta (pictured, halfback Nicho Hynes)
South Sydney are the other team to cop a particularly difficult run on the field.
The Rabbitohs have 12 matches against last year’s finalists, the most of any team to feature in the top eight.
Conversely, it is Canberra and Cronulla who will be happiest with Thursday’s outcome.
The Raiders play only eight matches against last year’s finalists, only doubling up against Cronulla, with just one match against all other top-eight sides.
The Sharks have also enjoyed the rub of the green, with 10 games against last year’s finalists and only one clash with Penrith and Parramatta.
The Raiders will be happy, as they play only eight matches against last year’s finalists, only doubling up against Cronulla, with just one match against all other top-eight sides
Read Related Also: ‘Potentially historic’ lake-effect snowfall is expected to impact Bills-Browns game
Other notable factors include defending-premiers Panthers travelling to every out-of-NSW club, racking up the most mileage of any Sydney team.
The Eels, in contrast, do not have to leave Sydney until round nine, and have also been gifted the luxury of a bye in the last week of the regular season before finals.
They will, however, be without Ryan Matterson for their opening games against Melbourne, Cronulla and Manly, after he took a ban to start the year rather than a $4000 fine.
Meanwhile, the NRL is determined to press ahead with plans for a money-spinning pre-season tournament after announcing two rounds of fixtures to start the year.
The 18-team competition will include Super League champions St Helens, with the Saints to face off against Penrith in the World Cup Challenge on February 18.
The NRL is determined to press ahead with plans for a money-spinning pre-season tournament after announcing two rounds of fixtures to start the year. The NRL are still finalising their plans for the competition, but the tournament is flagged to include individual and team prize money
The English club will also feature in a match against St George Illawarra in Wollongong on February 11, with the vast majority of the pre-season games to be played outside Sydney.
The NRL are still finalising their plans for the competition, but the tournament is flagged to include individual and team prize money.
For instance, players could be awarded prizes for the most metres or tries across the two rounds, while clubs could secure cash for wins.
The competition will begin in Auckland when the Warriors take on Wests Tigers, with the All Stars to follow further south in Rotorua the next day.
The Dolphins will play their first match on February 12 in Cairns against North Queensland, in what are likely to be difficult late-summer conditions.
The 18-team competition will include Super League champions St Helens (pictured), with the Saints to face off against Penrith in the World Cup Challenge on February 18
The 17th franchise will play their first match at home at Moreton Daily Stadium in Redcliffe on February 19 against Gold Coast.
Matches will also be played on the Central Coast, Wollongong, further down the South Coast, Geelong, Sunshine Coast, Mudgee and Christchurch.
The players’ union indicated their objection to a pre-season competition as recently as this week, citing concerns over player workload after the World Cup.
But the two-week window means players will not be asked to play more matches than is traditionally the case in the pre-season.
