The NRL have formally cancelled the season launch as negotiations continue between the Rugby League Players Association and the competition's authoritative body over the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
The launch is the latest - but most serious - casualty of the negotiations, which were originally supposed to be completed by last October.
NRL players have already abandoned other pre-season promotions and the idea of working with NRL.com media, while there has also been threats of delayed kick-offs, NRL logos being covered up and no media being carried out during the pre-season trials.
Those threats were ultimately not carried out during the pre-season challenge, which the Manly Sea Eagles won to pocket an extra $100,000 in the first competitive trial period the NRL have run.
But that doesn't mean the CBA situation has improved to the point of negotiations being completed.
NRL players have previously threatened to boycott the season launch, and seemingly, the NRL is not interested in any threat of a boycott ruining the event, deciding instead to cancel it.
First reported on Tuesday night, an NRL statement confirmed that the event, which was originally slated for Thursday, has been cancelled.
โDue to the ongoing collective bargaining agreement negotiations, the NRL will not hold a season launch function this Thursday as originally planned,โ the NRL said in a statement.
โThe NRL remains focussed on making positive progress regarding the joint NRL and NRLW agreements.โ
Traditionally, each club captain and a senior player attend the event, which is normally held in Sydney, but now the event will not take place.
There are still hopes that the CBA will be confirmed before Round 1, however, if it continues to be a stalemate between the two warring parties, it's unclear what, if any, action players will take.
The NRL and RLPA have been working under last year's expired CBA in the interim, however, it's believed neither party views this as sustainable.
Round 1 kicks off on Thursday, March 2 with the Parramatta Eels to host the Melbourne Storm at CommBank Stadium.
