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The Panthers and Eels will clash in the new pre-season tournament.Credit:Getty Images

In Super Rugby,teams get a bonus point for a loss of between one and seven points,while the victors get a bonus point for scoring three-plus tries more than their opponent. Rugby League Central is considering similar incentives to ensure an outright winner can be crowned.

The pre-season tournament will mark the first time the Dolphins,who play their first-ever match against North Queensland at Cairns’ Barlow Park,take the field. Other highlights of the trial period include a grand final rematch between rivals Parramatta and Penrith,while Anthony Seibold will coach Manly for the first time against former club South Sydney.

St Helens will warm up for their World Club Challenge clash against the Panthers with a hit-out against St George Illawarra. The All Stars clash will be played on Saturday,February 11,during the opening pre-season round.

The 2023 season will mark the first season that the Warriors can compete on an even footing since the Covid-19 pandemic began. The trans-Tasman outfit will host 12 matches in New Zealand for the first time since 2019,assisted by Wests Tigers’ decision to take one game on the road.

“We’re getting some content in New Zealand,it’s important,” Warriors CEO Cameron George said.

“Just having the boys home,it’s unbelievable. For the past three years we’ve been set up somewhere or temporarily moving somewhere. Being home,it’s unreal.”

The Knights will miss out on Magic Round.Credit:Getty

Meanwhile,Newcastle Knights CEO Philip Gardner said the NRL should consider awarding Magic Round hosting rights to the club in the future after it was overlooked for the event in 2023.

The introduction of the Dolphins means one team was always going to miss out on the round-10 event at Suncorp Stadium in May. The Knights have been overlooked in 2023,but expect to be included in coming years.

Gardner even suggested that,if there was an opportunity for other cities to bid for Magic Round in the future,the Hunter region warranted consideration.

“We would love to. A Magic Round or a State of Origin would be great,” Gardner told theHerald.

Wayne Bennett’s Dolphins face all three of their Queensland rivals by round eight.Credit:Getty

“The economics of that make it very difficult because it’s a bidding process. You would need the support of the NSW Government to do that,but certainly in Newcastle,at McDonald Jones Stadium,it would be a sellout all of the time.

“I don’t know if that’s economically feasible … but we would love to have it.”

Another draw highlight will beSeibold facing former club Brisbane for the first time in Magic Round. The former Dally M coach of the year said his immediate focus was on the opening-round home clash against the Bulldogs.

“Our whole pre-season is geared towards that,giving a good account of ourselves at the start of the season,” Seibold said.

“We will be building towards that opening game,like the Bulldogs will be.

“It’s great,I know[new Canterbury coach] Cameron Ciraldo reasonably well,he’s a really good man. He will be at the helm of the Bulldogs for the first time and it will be a good clash,I’m looking forward to it.”

The Dolphins will start their inaugural season with a clash against the Roosters at Suncorp Stadium. It will be the first of 10 free-to-air games on Channel Nine,publisher of this masthead. Their inclusion has resulted in the Broncos having 13 free-to-air games,a slight drop from previous seasons.

Round four sees a grand final replay when Parramatta host Penrith at CommBank Stadium on Thursday,March 23. The following evening,the ‘Battle of Brisbane’ will be contested for the first time when a huge crowd will be expected at Suncorp. By round eight,the NRL’s newest club will have faced all three of their Queensland rivals.

One of those clashes will take place on Good Friday - April 6- when the Dolphins travel to Townsville. The traditional Easter weekend will also feature the Bulldogs-Rabbitohs clash as well as the Storm locking horns with the Roosters on Easter Thursday and the Tigers facing the Eels on Easter Monday.

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