WILLIE Mason is on the bench. Lote Tuqiri will start for the Tigers. And a whole batch of rookies are set to debut. Check out the full teams for round one. 

CANTERBURY Bulldogs chief executive Todd Greenberg has dramatically bumped up his compensation price for Sonny Bill Williams to a staggering amount.

FOR 22 years Paul Whatuira thought he could hide his horrifying secret from the world. The two-time NRL premiership winner thought he was tough enough.

JARRYD Hayne wasn't listening when the suits started their speeches. He wasn't even in the room. He was performing tricks with the footy with Michael Jennings.

CENTRE Brent Tate and fullback Wade McKinnon have been added to the New Zealand Warriors line-up for today's trial against Manly at North Harbour Stadium.

DESPITE the physical test results for NRL players being closely guarded by their clubs, we can reveal which footy player is the strongest in the league.

WHEN league bosses open negotiations for a new TV rights deal this year, they should be armed with these compelling figures of the code's popularity on the box.

SEE what each club is saying as the NRL looks to issue in a new era of rugby league through the establishment of an independent commission to run the game we love.

DELEGATES from all 16 NRL clubs have today signed-off on a historic agreement to fast-track the game's first-ever independent commission. They want in in place by March.

THE New Zealand Warriors will have to pay full price if they want to buy New Zealand international centre Krisnan Inu from a reluctant Parramatta this season.

WAYNE Bennett hopes Matt Cooper, Gareth Ellis and Kurt Gidley are voted onto the NRL All Stars team he is to coach against the All Star Indigenous side.

THE New Zealand Warriors say they would be willing to talk to Willie Mason - but they would rather nab Krisnan Inu, who is in the final year of his deal with the Eels.

VETERAN front-rower Steve Price - who turns 36 at the start of the new season - is adamant he wants to continue playing representative rugby league next year.

FORMER Warriors, Manly and Parramatta half Michael Witt is returning to rugby league after a stint with New Zealand rugby union side Otago.

PROP Steve Price says he is "shocked, disappointed and surprised'' after revealing he didn't resign as New Zealand Warriors captain - he was sacked.

THERE are four months and 10 days before the NRL season kicks off in mid-March - and already the torture has begun. The Roosters, Warriors and Rabbitohs are back.

A LEADING sponsorship consultant, Kim Skildum-Reid, has sent a dire warning to the NRL - sponsors will keep walking away while ratbag players misbehave.

THE McIntyre finals system has had its fair share of critics over the past few weeks, but NRL chief executive David Gallop says he has no plans to change it.

Newcastle has announced the signing of  New Zealand Warriors prop Evarn Tuimavave for the next two seasons.  Meanwhile Isaac De Gois may play on Saturday.

WHICH NRL team do you love to hate? Should Origin be played on a stand-alone weekend? Who is the game's worst commentator? Answer these questions and more.

NEW skipper Simon Mannering ruled out of the club's NRL season opener against Gold Coast at Skilled Park on Sunday. Lance Hohaia at full-back. Team named

SONNY Bill Williams has a price on his head if he wants to return to the NRL - a $1 million fee demanded by the Bulldogs, who he deserted in 2008.

GOLDEN try, restart play from the 30-metre line if the ball is kicked dead, allow a set of six to be completed after fulltime. They are some of the changes fans want.

MANLY backrower Joe Galuvao was rushed to hospital in a neck brace as the value of trials became the major talking point after a scrappy draw with the Warriors.

THE Daily Telegraph today launches its 2010 NRL Fans Survey. We're giving you the chance to have some real input into the game before season starts. Fans Survey

JARRYD Hayne had to battle past Parramatta teammate Fuifui Moimoi to secure a spot in the All Stars clash - but he wasn't the most popular choice among fans.

WHAT will an NRL independent commission do for rugby league and how will it change the game we have come to love? Here are the answers to your questions. 

OFF season? What off season? The year is barely underway and yet the league world is buzzing after the game met a significant milestone in ensuring its future.

ARL supremo Colin Love's role in the game's new structure will be one of the major talking points at a crucial summit of NRL CEO's, coaches and captains today.

WITH the kick off to the 2010 NRL season fast approaching it's time to take stock of who is in and who is out and who your club is playing in the trial matches.

A YEAR after his death, New Zealand Warriors rugby league player Sonny Fai was remembered by family and friends at a memorial service at west Auckland's Bethells Beach.

THE New Zealand Warriors reportedly want to sign up Parramatta's Krisnan Inu as the Kiwi club continues their search for an outside back for next season.

SOUTH Sydney chief Shane Richardson has called on FFA to compensate NRL clubs up to $100 million if the rugby league season is suspended during a World Cup.

DEVASTATED Warriors prop Steve Price says the club is taking a huge risk by replacing him as captain with young back-rower Simon Mannering next season.

LONG-serving Steve Price has been replaced as Warriors captain by Simon Mannering following the side's disappointing season. Price steps down after five years.

FOR some fans the 2010 National Rugby League season can't come soon enough. Here is snapshot of where the clubs stand in their preparations for the season ahead.

THE player drain at Grand Finalists Parramatta has continued, with the New Zealand Warriors announcing the signing of hulking frontrower Jeremy Latimore.

AN exclusive fans poll has delivered a thumping message to NRL boss David Gallop - dump traditional home grounds and use big stadiums for major games.

MELBOURNE locked up fourth place and a home final next Friday night, but the chicken wing tackle was back under the microscope after their win against the Warriors.

SOME time Sunday Adam Woolnough will pull an ageing letter from his footy bag. It's part of a ritual he's kept hidden for eight winters. Secret from even his family.