BY ROB

The summer is waning now. The cricket is all but over, with both the men’s and women’s teams dunking their opponents in the proverbial toilet. Tennis has been and gone. Each day brings us closer to the first F1 car reveal of the year.

Suddenly:

Because we’re now stuck in the timeline from hell time itself is beginning to distort, relativity pinging back and forth like a rubber band in the hands of a student about to get themselves in trouble. It feels like yesterday that the Panthers were confirming themselves as a legendary outfit, skewering a hapless Melbourne side in the grand final. It also feels like an aeon has passed since we saw a Steeden in flight.

But all good things come to those who wait, and waited we most certainly have.

Courtesy of their journey across the Pacific for Game 1 of the entire season the Raiders have had their preseason challenge front-loaded. In the space of six days they’ll play the Panthers and the Sharks, and then they’ll start organising themselves for their first trip to Las Vegas (and possibly their last if the US of A implodes).

2025 is a year of generational change – gone are Rapana and Whitehead, Cotric, Guler, Woolford and Schiller. Hohepa and Trevilyan barely got a look in. Leo Thompson nearly chose green, until the Bulldogs threw down four aces.

What the Raiders have gained is another potential super-pom in the form of Matty Nicholson, the second coming of Christ in Ethan Sanders, another Martin (Myles flavoured) and a young-gun by the name of Savelio Tamale.

Looking ahead to game day conditions will be on the warmer side, but with the tempering factor of a breeze at Shark park (all four Vegas-bound teams are playing there across the Friday and Saturday).

28 players can be fielded, with unlimited interchanges available. Expect Sticky to keep some of his more prized elder statesmen on ice, while opting for a high rotation of youngsters – dual Ethans in the halves!?

Zac Hosking is definitely out, as he races the clock/calendar rehabbing his calf in order to get on that big jet plane. I doubt we’ll see the likes of Papa, Taps, Fog and Young. In the backline X, Weekes and Tamale will all be out, allowing the likes of Stewart, Asomua and Stuart to showcase their wares. Horsburgh could be given some time in charge of the forwards to demonstrate that he’s ready to start the year in high gear.

The hooking duties will be a point of intrigue: will Stick give ample time to Owen Pattie, aware that he may (read: definitely) outshine either Danny Levi or Tom Starling (or both).

Trials are a bit like Schrodinger’s cat trapped inside Pandora’s Box. They mean both nothing and everything (particularly the first trial). You can’t really measure your side against any other because they’re all hideous patchwork teams of fringe youngsters sprinkled with established players who need a bit of preheating in the preseason oven.

The Panthers remain the measure of excellence in the NRL, and there’s no reason to assume that this doesn’t extend all the way down their top 30. We’ll most likely be spared the horror of Cleary carving us up, but the ‘Riffs systemic structuring is a force in itself. The Raiders were one of the few teams that managed to confound the premiers last year, but that may not happen again come Saturday.

For these trial Rumbles we’ll take an easy approach, and then switch to a somewhat more concise format ahead of round 1.

Welcome back Footy, we’ve missed you.

Do me a favour and like the page on  Facebook, follow me on Twitter, or share this on social media because I’m like teenage Rick at this point (this is not a dance). Don’t hesitate to send us feedback (dan@sportress.org) or comment below if you think we are stupid. Or if we’re not.