So Super League is up and running, and are we going to witness a repeat of last year, when St Helens took the title and the most recent team to join the competition struggled badly?
Of course we’ve only had one round of 27 – and all those six matches are covered in detail between pages 14 and 20 – but Saints looked ominously solid as they began their bid for a fourth straight title, something never achieved in the summer era.
Catalans, who claimed the League Leaders’ Shield last year, were beaten far more comfortably than in the 2021 Grand Final as Mitchell Pearce made an unconvincing debut against a home side for whom another halfback, Lewis Dodd, impressed.
There’s no doubting Pearce is a top-quality player, however, and it’s going to be interesting to see how his partnership with fellow Aussie Josh Drinkwater develops.
Head 125 miles North-West of Perpignan vis those historic Rugby League towns of Narbonne and Carcassonne and you’ll arrive at Toulouse, whose big top-flight bow ended in a disappointing defeat by Huddersfield.
It has surprised many that Olympique haven’t made more closed-season signings, and while it could be argued that it was something like a Super League-ready squad who claimed Championship success, the loss of star duo Johnathon Ford and Mark Kheirallah is a real blow for Sylvain Houles.
The coach will be hoping there can somehow be a U-turn for fullback Kheirallah, and he will be scouring the market for a new halfback, but it’s clearly not the best time to be carrying out such a search.
Ironically, Houles’ side struggled to contain a French stand-off in Theo Fages, just one of a string of new faces in a Huddersfield side eager to climb the table under Ian Watson.
Talking of halfbacks, a suspension meant Leeds were unable to partner Blake Austin with Aidan Sezer as they went down to a Warrington side featuring Gareth Widdop and George Williams in the historic first free-to-air Super League match which attracted a peak Channel 4 audience of 735,000.
Hopefully many of them will tune in this Saturday when Hull host Saints.
In a different competition, congratulations to Hunslet Club Parkside on becoming the latest community club to eliminate league opponents in the Challenge Cup, after Lock Lane won at Oldham in round two.
The 28-6 third-round victory over London Skolars at the New River Stadium in Haringey sealed a home meeting with former Cup winners Sheffield Eagles, while doing little to lift the spirits about the state of the game in the capital.
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