The 2024 NRL season is less than a month away, and with the Panthers eyeing an incredible fourth-straight premiership, every other team is fine-tuning their lineups in order to mount a serious challenge.
Return to this page for the latest scores, match reports and any injury news to come out of the Pre-Season Challenge.
(All times listed in AEDT)
Thursday, February 15
Bulldogs def. Storm 24-12
Papenhuyzen scores as Storm lose to Bulldogs
Ryan Papenhuyzen has shown a glimpse of his scintillating best after getting through 40 minutes unscathed in Melbourne's 24-12 NRL pre-season loss to Canterbury.
Playing for the first time since a devastating dislocated ankle last September, Papenhuyzen scored one try when he sprinted on to a Troy Pezet kick right on half-time.
Papenhuyzen has only played three games in the NRL and six rugby league matches in total since shattering his patella in July 2022.
The fullback looked threatening with his first touch through the middle, and threw the last pass to Dean Ieremia for Melbourne's first try.
His own four-pointer was one of the highlights of the match, as he sprinted through on a Pezet kick from 30 metres out off a scrum.
"Pezet is a really talented kid and I knew he could pull off that kick - I just had to be on the end of it," Papenhuyzen said.
"I feel really quick. My top speed I recorded in 2018. I've hit 94 percent of that and back then I was 60 kilos and now I'm 83."
There were also positive signs for Canterbury, who ran out a much stronger outfit including Matt Burton and Drew Hutchison as the first-choice halves.
Bronson Xerri looked dangerous at left centre, finishing off a backline movement for one try and going within centimetres of scoring another in his first game back from a four-year drug ban.
Still only 23, Xerri ran with power for 161 metres, busted a tackle and also put his winger Jeral Skelton over for a try.
Blake Taaffe also looked impressive in his 45 minutes at fullback as he battles Stephen Crichton for the No.1 jersey, with the latter not playing on Thursday night.
Poasa Faamausili and Sam Hughes also had some damaging runs in the middle, including a powerful Faamausili charge that led to the Bulldogs' opening try through Eli Clark.
NRL All Stars 2024
Friday, February 16
Indigenous All Stars women def. Māori All Stars women 26-4
Indigenous All Stars men def. Māori All Stars men 24-14
Saturday, February 17
Knights def. Sharks 44-18
Cogger makes case for Knights No. 6 jersey in trial win
Jack Cogger has made an early push for the Newcastle No. 6 jersey as the Knights easily accounted for an understrength Cronulla 44-18 in Gosford.
Jackson Hastings starred for Newcastle in the pre-season win, chipping ahead for a Dylan Lucas try and setting up two others in the first half.
English recruit Will Pryce also scored a try in his first game for the Knights and kicked ahead for another.
But all eyes remain on the battle to partner Hastings in the halves for round one against Canberra, with recruit Cogger and incumbent Tyson Gamble each playing 40 minutes.
Coming off the bench behind a starting Gamble, Cogger made an immediate impact when he kicked a 40-20 with one of his first touches.
The five-eighth then almost put Tom Jenkins over from the ensuing set, before the winger ran out of room on the right edge.
Cogger scored a try of his own in the second half, albeit in simple fashion after he chased down a kick from David Armstrong.
Newcastle appeared to sign Cogger as their long-term five-eighth last August, when they lured him to the club on a three-year deal.
But Gamble's end to the season at the Knights has muddied the selection debate, after he and Hastings took them to a semi-final.
At the same time, Cogger was starring filling in at No.6 for Jarome Luai at Penrith, where he played a key role in the last 20 minutes of the grand final win.
Gamble had little to do in his first 20 minutes on the field on Saturday as both sides traded several early errors.
But his best moment came off the back of a bomb from Cogger, when he chased through to collect it and was held up over the line.
One major concern for Newcastle came in the form of an ugly concussion to centre Krystian Mapapalangi on the first tackle of the game, when his head collected Oregon Kaufusi's body.
With the majority of their top 17 not playing, Kaufusi made an early impact with a late offload for Cronulla's first try to Jayden Berrell.
The Sharks led 12-0 when Sione Katoa scored off a Jesse Colquhorn offload and subsequent Daniel Atkinson grubberkick, but from there it was all the Knights.
Cronulla forward Tom Hazleton could also face a ban, after being sin-binned for a late high shot on Mat Croker.
Roosters def. Sea Eagles 36-22
Young taken to hospital after crusher tackle
Star Sydney Roosters recruit Dom Young has been taken to hospital in an ambulance for precautionary neck scans after being hurt in a crusher tackle.
Young left Central Coast Stadium on a stretcher and in a neck brace after a second-half tackle from Manly forward Toff Sipley in the Roosters' 36-22 pre-season win.
The Roosters' Vegas clash against Brisbane is two weeks away, and the club believed putting him an ambulance would ensure scan results would come back before they fly out on Wednesday.
Young has endured a difficult summer, after he was hospitalised in England when a sinus infection spread to his brain in October.
"He's good, it's just when you're dealing with the neck, you want to be precautionary, so he's just gone to the hospital to get a scan," coach Trent Robinson said.
"He was good in there (in the sheds) talking and sitting up and all that, but they just want to keep it stable just so we know what's exactly wrong with it.
"But he was in good spirits and he was fine."
Robinson already faces a difficult decision on the make-up of his outside backs.
Daniel Tupou, Joey Manu, Joseph Aukuso-Suaalii, Young and Billy Smith all need to fit into four spots, with Robinson likely to rotate them in the opening rounds.
Smith was given a chance to start against Manly on Saturday, and set up a try when he leapt high at left centre to take a Luke Keary bomb and put Daniel Tupou over.
Suaalii also had a neat touch at right centre when he put on a no-look pass for Young to score, before coming off in the second half and being replaced by Manu.
With the Roosters at close to full strength and Manly undermanned, Sam Walker also scored a try out of dummy-half after a Keary bust.
Meanwhile, Sipley's tackle could also have ramifications for Manly.
He was placed on report, and could face a ban that would rule him out of their Vegas season opener against South Sydney.
Josh Schuster will also fly to Las Vegas five days after his Manly teammates after being rested from Saturday's loss.
Originally scheduled to come off the bench, Schuster was put on ice for another week as he recovers from a calf injury.
The Sea Eagles now want to play him in next Saturday's pre-season match against Brisbane at Brookvale, before he flies to the US the following day.
"He'll fly to Vegas on the Sunday and then we'll make a decision whether he is in the 17 or not," Sea Eagles coach Anthony Seibold said on Fox Sports.
"It's a long season and this is quite a unique preparation for us. The physio decided to pull him out and give him a good prep for the Broncos trial."
Even if fit, Schuster is also no certainty to be in Manly's first-choice starting side, with Ben Trbojevic impressing on the left in the second row in the pre-season.
Raider def. Eels 38-16
Raiders belt Eels in trials but spine questions remain
Canberra's spine conundrum appears no closer to being solved despite a 38-16 defeat of Parramatta in the NRL pre-season challenge.
The Raiders entered the summer with uncertainty as to who would play in three of four spine positions, following the departure of five-eighth Jack Wighton and movement at hooker and fullback in 2023.
Only halfback Jamal Fogarty appears assured of a spot in the starting team for round one.
There was ample opportunity for a hero to announce himself in a game that was close until the final 20 minutes at Jubilee Stadium on Saturday.
But none was forthcoming on the edges for the Green Machine, who were bulldozed to a big victory late in the piece by a cast of up-and-comers.
In the halves, Kaeo Weekes and fellow five-eighth option Ethan Strange were solid without setting the world alight.
Weekes scored Canberra's second try after putting a bomb up, chasing through and then finding himself on the receiving end of a second kick from Nick Cotric.
Strange looked comfortable with the boot himself, forcing a dropout in the first half.
"Obviously there's opportunities that we missed, but there were opportunities that we did take," said Weekes.
"It was a good first hit-out for the boys and good to run around again."
The Raiders' usual starting hooker in 2023, Zac Woolford was given first chance to impress at dummy-half but an early head knock cut his night short.
Young Chevy Stewart defused a 40/20 attempt in the first half but never cut loose with the ball as fullback rivals Seb Kris and Jordan Rapana watched on.
Brendan Hands staked his claim to start at hooker for Parramatta, who are set to anoint either the Penrith junior or Joey Lussick as Josh Hodgson's permanent successor.
Ousted from starting duties by mid-season recruit Lussick last year, Hands was the Eels' most impressive player, setting up the first try with a dart out of dummy-half.
He was held up from scoring his own try, and later cut through the middle on a line break that could've led to Parramatta's third try had he found an inside ball.
After a solid first half, highly-rated young Eels half Ethan Sanders struggled, putting one kick out on the full and failing to find touch from a penalty with another.
Parramatta recruit Kelma Tuilagi struck up a formidable partnership with Bailey Simonsson on the left edge after usual second-rower Shaun Lane went to the bench.
Tuilagi burst past former Manly teammate Weekes on a break that led Simonsson to score the side's third.
Eels forward Makahesi Makatoa is likely to face scrutiny from the match review committee after laying a hip drop-style tackle on Raiders winger Xavier Savage in the first half.
Matt Arthur, son of Parramatta coach Brad, knocked himself out cold attempting to tackle Peter Taateo off a kick return and left the field following a five-minute break in play.
Rabbitohs def. Dragons 28-6
Dragons' Flanagan era starts with Charity Shield loss
St George Illawarra's Shane Flanagan era is off to a disappointing start as undermanned South Sydney ran out 28-6 winners in the Charity Shield.
Some 8827 fans flocked to Jubilee Stadium on Saturday to see the new dawn breaking but they'd have left certain the Dragons under Flanagan are a work in progress.
His side started at near full-strength but found only one try, gift-wrapped by a rival error, against a Souths outfit missing Latrell Mitchell, Cody Walker, Jack Wighton, Campbell Graham and Damien Cook.
After a defensively solid start, the Dragons buckled late as stars progressively went to the bench, leaking three tries in the last 18 minutes to fall well behind.
"When we had our best team on in the first half, I thought it was a good hit-out," Flanagan said.
"The second half probably just showed us where we are with our young kids. They're not up to it just as of yet.
"Bit clunky from both (sides). I thought first half, we'll give it a tick, second half, we'll give it a cross."
The Rabbitohs, meanwhile, head to Las Vegas next week with a spring in their step ahead of their season opener.
"It's a good start," Souths coach Jason Demetriou said of the win.
"You know it's not going to be perfect, but you want to see (the team) going after the things that we said we value. I saw that tonight."
Following Junior Amone's off-season axing, Kyle Flanagan had a solid if unremarkable club debut at five-eighth for St George Illawarra.
He put on a show-and-go and threatened to breach the line at close range early in the second half but that was as close as he came to inspiring points.
Back spasms prevented Zac Lomax from having any time at fullback as uncertainty remains about his position for 2024.
Lomax spent the first half at wing before shifting to centre and then earning an early mark.
South Sydney's Lachlan Ilias, still looking to affirm his credentials as an elite-level halfback, sent two passes to the deck either side of halftime.
The first bounced into Mikaele Ravalawa's hands for the Dragons' only try as the seconds ticked down to the main break.
It came after a similar error gave the Rabbitohs the first points of the game 36 minutes in.
Ilias' hit dislodged the ball from Tyrell Sloan's grasp and straight into that of Jacob Host.
The game in the balance after the break, the Rabbitohs' power in the middle proved decisive.
Cam Murray and Sean Keppie, excellent on club debut with 156 metres, came up with a pair of offloads that handed Braidon Burns a try on return to Souths.
Davvy Moale barged over just after the drinks break and the Rabbitohs were on their way.
Earlier, they confirmed would-be Maori representative Jacob Gagai had been permitted to serve his one-match ban in the All Stars match so will be free for Las Vegas.
Rated a star of the future, forward Tallis Duncan could face scrutiny for that game against Manly after going on report for up-ending Ben Murdoch-Masila.
Sunday, February 18
Benji's Tigers win first-up but RTS stars in NRL return
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck has hit the ground running in his return to rugby league for the Warriors with a brilliant NRL trial display against Wests Tigers.
The Warriors superstar showed no sign of having not played the code since 2021 through his defection to rugby, emerging as clearly the most damaging player on the park in his side's narrow 18-16 loss in Christchurch.
Defeat for the home side came after they played more than an hour with 12 men after young prop Zyon Maiu'u was sent off early for a high shot on Tiger centre Declan Casey.
There were some positive signs for the Tigers in their first game under new coach and club legend Benji Marshall, with new halves pairing Aidan Sezer and Jayden Sullivan at times looking much more fluid in attack than previously.
Sezer's kicking game helped him take control of the contest and he scored a try with beautiful support play, while Sullivan benefited from the extra space to use his running game.
Tiger fans will be hoping the duo can continue to develop together after the club went rifled through 14 spine combinations last season.
Former All Black Tuivasa-Sheck looked powerful with ball-in-hand and ran for 139m and three tackle busts, while some brutal defensive hits - including a monster jam that forced Tigers fullback Jahream Bula to fumble - highlighted his difference-making ability.
His undermanned side showed genuine fight in their trial game, rallying when a man down to score score the last two tries.
Paul Roache pulled a try back with a dive out of dummy-half, before a clever grubber from Geronimo Doyle allowed winger Setu Tu to score in the corner.
But Ben Farr's missed conversion from the sideline meant the Tigers hung on for the two-point win.
West Tigers lock Alex Seyfarth opened the scoring thanks to Api Koroisau's crafty hooker work, while team-mate Alex Lobb made it 18-6 in the second half off the back of a kick.
Another Warriors returnee - utility Chanel Harris-Tavita - had a quite game and made three errors playing in the halves next to Luke Metcalf.
Maiu'u will likely face suspension after delivering a brutal high shot to new Tiger centre Casey, with the former Canterbury talent subsequently stretchered off the field with a concussion.
Tiger second-rower Samuela Fainu also spent time off the field in the second half for a swinging arm that collected Tom Ale in the face.
Broncos def. Cowboys 46-20
Haas on report, Piakura stars as Broncos beat Cowboys
Brisbane prop Payne Haas was put on report and back-rower Brendan Piakura injured a knee while starring in the Broncos' 46-20 NRL pre-season trial win over North Queensland.
Piakura, 21, scored two tries that showcased his brilliant "hole-running" ability against an understrength Cowboys outfit in Mackay on Sunday.
He didn't play out the full game and was seen after the match wearing a knee brace.
Coach Kevin Walters said scans on Monday would determine the extent of the injury.
"He didn't take any further part in the game, so that is not great news for Brendan, or for us for that matter," Walters said.
"We will get some scans tomorrow when we get back to Brisbane. I am sure they will get on top of it."
Piakura is set to take the Broncos' starting second-rower position that was vacated by Kurt Capewell, who is now at the Warriors.
"Piakura is a very special player. He has great movement, great skill and can be a real X factor for the Broncos this season," former Broncos centre Brent Tate said in Fox League commentary.
Haas was put on report in the first half on Sunday for a swinging arm on Cowboys bench hooker Kyle Schneider.
The star 24-year-old prop's next scheduled match is the round-one clash with the Sydney Roosters in Las Vegas.
Haas, who ran for 125m in a blockbusting first-half display, has a nervous wait for the charge sheet from the match review committee, although there didn't appear much in the incident.
The Broncos got plenty out of the trial, which featured fullback Reece Walsh in electric form.
Veteran winger Corey Oates had a quality start to his season when he crossed in just the second minute.
His try came after Walsh chimed in and found new centre Selwyn Cobbo.
Cobbo's soft hands were a feature as he set up Oates to perfection.
Halfback Adam Reynolds owned the second try with a double pump and silky short ball for flying back-rower Piakura to race into a giant hole to score with ease.
Cowboys winger Semi Valemei swooped on a long Walsh pass to race away against the run of play, before Piakura scored his second try by showcasing classy late footwork to get himself outside the defenders just as he was about to receive the ball.
The unheralded Cowboys took it to the Broncos late in the first half.
Powerhouse back-rower Kulikefu Finefeuiaki carried three Broncos over the tryline with him, before hooker Sam Mullany charged through some poor Broncos defence.
After half-time the Broncos' big guns came to the fore, with Cobbo snaring a try from a bomb and Walsh scoring a cracker after an interchange of passing with Cobbo.
Last year's NRL grand finalists didn't look back from there, with the speedy Walsh setting up Tristan Sailor for a try.
Giant 205cm Broncos prop Ben Te Kura scored a try in an impressive late cameo appearance.
Titans def. Dolphins 26-14
Farnworth stars on Dolphins debut in win over Titans
Dolphins recruit Herbie Farnworth scored in an impressive club debut but Wayne Bennett's men have plenty to work on after a 26-14 win over an understrength Gold Coast.
The Dolphins recruited Farnworth for his genuine strike power as a centre and didn't have to wait long for him to unfurl his talents at a sold out Sunshine Coast Stadium.
In the eighth minute Farnworth carried four Titans over the line after a slick ball from No.6 Isaiya Katoa.
The England international played 60 minutes, mostly at right centre, and his combination with winger Jamayne Isaako looked promising.
Farnworth played 20 minutes at fullback in the second half and looked equally at home.
"I thought Herbie looked really good," Dolphins assistant coach Kristian Woolf said.
"Him and Jamayne have a great combination on that right edge. I think Herbie enjoyed going back and playing a little bit of fullback as well.
"He wanted to get his hands on the footy and was very involved early. It looked like he enjoyed it."
The Dolphins were error-riddled in the first half and were stunned by the Titans.
Gold Coast half Tom Weaver is in a race with Tanah Boyd to wear the No.7 jersey in the NRL and made an early statement with a cut-out pass that was tapped on by centre Aaron Schoupp for winger Tony Francis to score.
The Titans didn't field their big names but received mammoth displays from several rising young players..
Iszac Fa'asuamaleaui, younger brother of Titans captain Tino, was the best forward on the field in the first half while 19-year-old prop Josiah Puhulu turned in a powerhouse opening.
Gold Coast gave Jaylan De Groot a crack at fullback and he dazzled with his running game. De Groot set up Francis for his second try with a cut-out pass to give the Gold Coast a shock 8-4 lead after 40 minutes.
The Dolphins took the lead when veteran prop Jarrod Wallace crashed over under the posts.
Dolphins recruit Jake Averillo, who came off the bench at left centre, put impressive winger Jack Bostock over to increase the lead.
"(Averillo) has got great acceleration, speed and skill. He's a great player," Woolf said.
"I thought Tesi Niu was really good as well, as was Jack Bostock. That competition (for outside back spots) is still going. There's another trial next week to see how it goes."
Valynce Te Whare, who replaced Farnworth at right centre, set up winger Brenton Baira with slick hands.
Titans second-rower Klese Haas was put on report for a hair pull on Dolphin Gerome Burns.
Friday, February 23
Rabbitohs vs. Roosters at PointsBet Stadium - 6pm.
Sharks vs. Bulldogs at PointsBet Stadium - 8pm.
Saturday, February 24
Storm vs. Knights at Venue TBC - 1.45pm.
Warriors vs. Dolphins at Go Media Stadium - 3.45pm.
Sea Eagles vs. Broncos at 4 Pines Park - 5.55pm.
Dragons vs. Wests Tigers at Glen Willow Stadium, Mudgee - 8.05pm
Sunday, February 25
Wigan Warriors vs. Panthers (World Club Challenge) DW Stadium in Wigan - 7am.
Raiders vs. Cowboys at Seiffert Oval, Queanbeyan - 3pm.
Titans vs. Eels at North Ipswich Reserve, Ipswich - 5pm.