SYDNEY: Australia's National Rugby League season kicks off Thursday with South Sydney Rabbitohs opening the defence of their title amid a damaging drugs scandal blighting the sport and all-too-common player behaviour issues.
The lead-up to the new season has been mired by a cocaine scandal that has engulfed the Gold Coast Titans with five current players facing court along with former NRL and current Queensland Reds Super Rugby star Karmichael Hunt.
Titans coach Neil Henry did not name any of the five charged players, including representative forwards Greg Bird and Dave Taylor, in the team to play in Saturday's season opener against Wests Tigers.
If that wasn't enough unwanted publicity, champion club Souths were fined Aus$20,000 ($15,500) by the NRL following an investigation into an incident in the United States involving two of their players.
Former club captain John Sutton and English forward Luke Burgess spent the night behind bars during the team's trip to Arizona for a training camp in November after they were ejected from a bar.
Both players were charged with "disorderly conduct, fighting", a misdemeanour offence, while Burgess was also hit with an assault charge, media reports said.
Sutton was dumped as Souths captain and Burgess, the brother of English internationals Sam and George Burgess, made an off-season switch to Manly in January.
The Rabbitohs are bidding to become the first side since the Brisbane Broncos in 1992-93 to successfully defend the title in a non-Super League season, but they will have to do it without Sam Burgess, who has switched to rugby union with Bath.
Burgess was the NRL's most influential player last year and claimed the Clive Churchill medal in Souths' first championship title in 43 years in their grand final victory over Canterbury.
Souths have changed their big forward emphasis by recruiting ball-playing back-rower Glenn Stewart from Manly, while they have made Test star Greg Inglis the new skipper.
"I think the way the combinations are starting to gel, as we saw overseas, we've got some difference about us as a team now," coach Michael Maguire said.
"Everyone has sort of spoken about how we play this game through the middle and I guess (how) we played a certain way.
"But for us, we know what we can do and it's about going about it."
- Under pressure -
The Rabbitohs will go into Thursday's season opener against the Broncos in Brisbane as winners of the Auckland Nines and the World Club Challenge (WCC) over St Helens.
Since the WCC was switched to a February pre-season date, no Australian side has gone on to win the NRL Premiership that same season.
Another significant departure is code-hopper Sonny Bill Williams' return from the Sydney Roosters to the Waikato Chiefs in Super Rugby.
South Sydney and Sydney Roosters are the bookmakers' joint favourites to win this season's title ahead of Canterbury, Brisbane, North Queensland and Penrith.
Master coach Wayne Bennett has returned to Brisbane -- six years after the seven-time Premiership-winning coach left the Broncos for St George Illawarra and his last club Newcastle Knights.
Manly, who have qualified for the last 10 successive finals series, are under pressure following the off-season exits of forwards Anthony Watmough, Stewart and Jason King.
The other unknown for Manly is what impact the saga surrounding off-contract halves duo Kieran Foran and Daly Cherry-Evans will have on the Sea Eagles team morale.
His departure is a blow for his Parramatta Eels club's chances in this season's competition.
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