This month we’ve gone above and beyond our usual impressive form to deliver the best NRL longform articles, statistical analysis and in-depth one on one player interviews – so that you’re fully prepped for the season ahead.

Every footy club has a story to tell, and these tales often shape seasons as much as wins or losses. For Inside Sport’s season preview, James Smith and Jeff Centenera identify the narrative arc which every team is tracking in 2018. And before we get too carried away with these stories, we also take a look at the numbers (with an assist from the Fox Sports Lab) that confirm or disprove the plotline.

 

Meanwhile, with eight matches scheduled across regional New South Wales and Queensland, plus blockbuster events in major cities including Perth, Adelaide, Darwin and Melbourne, elite-level rugby league will be taken to every corner of the Aussie mainland in 2018 and beyond. Accordingly, James Smith has produced a rough guide for those keen to catch some away games.

After three straight wooden spoons, Newcastle is harbouring hopes for something vastly different this season. And following an overhaul of the club that would rank among the NRL’s most complete, the Knights might have good reason. For his feature story Night And Day, our correspondent Matt Cleary headed to their preseason prep to witness the makeover in action.