The teams are out for the opening week of the pre-season challenge, with the St George Illawarra Dragons, Canterbury Bulldogs, Newcastle Knights and North Queensland Cowboys heading to Kogarah to get things underway.
Plenty of top stars are sitting out, but that creates opportunities for others to impress and potentially push for spots in Round 1, while an eye will also be on the future in multiple positions.
Here are the ten players to watch this weekend.
Pre-season challenge Week 1 team lists
4. Gordon Chan Kum Tong (Canterbury Bulldogs)
The Bulldogs are a team with plenty of question marks heading into 2026, particularly around their spine.
The bottom line for Canterbury is that the departures of Toby Sexton and Reed Mahoney leaves gaps to be filled. Sexton's position at halfback will clearly be filled by either Lachlan Galvin or Mitchell Woods (who will be injured to start the year), but given one is a five-eighth, and the other a rookie, the jury is out.
There are also question marks around Bailey Hayward's ability to play 80 minutes on a weekly basis.
The Bulldogs have, in what seems to be an insurance policy play, signed Gordon Chan Kum Tong from the Manly Sea Eagles. He will live on a development deal at Belmore, but could well find an upgrade with strong performances in the coming weeks.
Behind Hayward at dummy half, the Bulldogs have experienced rake Jake Turpin and rookie Patrick Woods, but Chan Kum Tong may be the best of the trio.
Watch this space.
