As you tuck into the Christmas ham, try to dodge the worst of the chat around the table and open the presents, NRL clubs will also be hoping they can score plenty from the most festive day of the year.
It's time of year when the NRL seems to stand still. Players are on leave, clubs go quiet and the signings - for about the only time all year - slow down.
But it won't stay that way for long. Clubs have turned their long-term attention towards their 2025 squads, while pre-season training will be back shortly ahead of the season kicking off in Las Vegas, which itself follows pre-season trials from the middle of February.
So, what does your club want for Christmas ahead of the 2024 season?
On behalf of the entire Zero Tackle team, we wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas, and safe holiday period.
3. Bulldogs: Utility signings fit into best 17
One of the more odd rugby league stories to follow throughout the second half of the 2023 season has been the way in which the Canterbury Bulldogs are setting themselves up for 2024.
Instead of signing multiple forwards, they have gone on a run of utility signings.
We don't need to go into too much depth because it has been covered ad-nauseum, but for their part, all the noise from the signings and the club's higher ups themselves has not referenced the signings as utilities, but rather players with a role.
Phil Gould has admitted it will help if they face similar problems as they did in 2023 injury-wise, but that's as close as they have come to suggesting utilities were the order of business.
Now though, it's on Cameron Ciraldo to work out the best role for these players and to understand how they fit into the 17. Most of the group are good enough to be starting, but the options the Bulldogs have available will make them one of the trickiest sides to tip and predict heading into 2024.
