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Breathe, NRL fans: February is finally here

6th February, 2018
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Dale Finucane of the Storm celebrates with Cameron Smith of the Storm after scoring a try during the 2017 NRL Grand Final match between the Melbourne Storm and the North Queensland Cowboys at ANZ Stadium on October 1, 2017 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
Roar Guru
6th February, 2018
59
1123 Reads

February is upon us and the rugby league season is here. Well, kind of. Close enough.

It’s the month of grainy footage of pre-season trial matches that you salivate over simply because you can’t stand any more T20 cricket – in my humble opinion, a dumbed down version of the game for those with limited attention spans.

You look forward to trials because it’s actual footage of players playing. Your new recruit is running around for ten minutes or so, and it produces a strange feeling from within.

It’s footy, so you want your team to win, but it’s also just a trial, so the scoreline doesn’t really matter. But it still kind of does – you don’t want your team getting thumped, even with nothing on the line.

Secretly you just want the team to come through unscathed.

Hull FC and Wigan are in town for a couple of games and, as I was having breakfast in North Wollongong earlier this week, I saw some footy-ish guys at the beach. They were quite fit and joking around. They could have been Wigan Warriors, or Hull FC. Hell, they could have easily been the Dapto Canaries.

After a long summer of cricket, February is really a transitional month. The cricket is winding down, the Big Bash has thankfully ended, and focus turns to the winter codes of AFL and NRL. Sure, there’s also Super Rugby but that competition isn’t a major headline-grabber.

There’s a feast of footy on this month with the Cauldron, otherwise known as Ringrose Park, hosting Parramatta and North Sydney on February 8. Will Jarryd Hayne make his return to the Eels in this one? Is Ringrose Park big enough to hold his ego? Time will tell.

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Jarryd Hayne Gold Coast Titans NRL Rugby League 2016 b

(AAP Image/Dan Peled)

Wigan and Hull FC do battle at WIN Stadium on Saturday, February 10. Do yourself a favour and grab some Chicko’s before the game. Or spend $10 for a couple of dodgy-looking chicken tenders and a handful of chips inside the ground. The choice is yours.

February 17 rolls around and the floodgates open, with a double-header at ANZ Stadium featuring the Dragons and Hull FC at 5:30pm, followed by South Sydney and Wigan at 7:45pm and the chance for Random Souths Guy to make his 2018 debut – but you can bet it won’t be here. You’re more likely to see him somewhere like Rotorua Stadium when the Storm and Warriors do battle.

In all, there are eight trials taking place that day and we’ll love every second of bad footage we can get. We’ll curse and cheer via hashtags and Rabbitohs fans will be claiming another March premiership.

Meanwhile, should the Dragons fall in any game, the inevitable chokers tag will be rolled out, and calls to Oust Doust will grow louder, even though the man has in fact ousted himself.

The month rounds out with a Cameron Smith/Johnathan Thurston testimonial game on February 23 followed by more trials in PNG, Belmore and of course the rugby league heartland of Mudgee for the annual Charity Shield.

Enjoy.

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Check out The Roar’s full NRL trial schedule for details.

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