New players integrating into a system, returning stars hoping to put injury-plagued 2020 campaigns behind them and incoming coaches seeking pre-season vindication of the work they ve put their players through.
They are just three of the many things cubs will be looking to glean from this weekend s full slate of trials.
Each of the 16 teams has particular areas of focus, with the scoreboard not being of great importance. Avoiding injuries will be key.
Here are the important factors for each team this weekend.
Tedesco ready to captain Roosters, if called upon
NRL Trials - Week 3
Raiders: All eyes on that right edge with
NRL.com is live-streaming 11 trial matches as clubs put the finishing touches on their preparations for the Telstra Premiership season.
NRL.com will be live-streaming all pre-season matches free of charge with the exception of the Charity Shield and All Stars matches. The only place to see every NRL pre-season match is on Kayo.
The men s and women s All Stars matches were shown on the Nine Network and Fox League and Charity Shield will also be shown on Fox League.
For complete coverage of all the games appearing on nrl.com go to www.nrl.com/tv/watch-live/.
Games are free to watch on nrl.com, however you do need an NRL Account to access the livestreams. If you do not have an account, all the information you need is here. The accounts are free.
The annual All Stars fixture headlines the pre-season schedule leading into the 2021 Telstra Premiership.
All eight official club trials have been confirmed with each team only playing one full NRL trial due to the shorter-than-usual time between seasons caused by the disruptions to the 2020 schedule from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The club trials will be held on the last weekend of February in the lead-up to the start of the regular season on March 11.
For the first time, Townsville s Queensland Country Bank Stadium will host the Harvey Norman All Stars clashes between the men s and women s teams representing the Australian Indigenous sides and the New Zealand Maori on February 20.