A new year has arrived, and NRL clubs will be back from their Christmas breaks to ramp up pre-season training in the next week.
The final run to the season often brings with it heightened intensity and discussion as fans ready themselves for the new campaign.
This year could on another level altogether with the season opening in Las Vegas a week ahead of schedule.
Expectations are a funny thing though. Every year, there are teams who will go well beyond what they were expected to do, and others who fall a long way short of where they were supposed to be.
But what exactly are those expectations for all 17 NRL teams in 2024?
Here is what your team needs to do to earn a pass in 2024.
5. Rabbitohs: Grand final
South Sydney suffered a dramatic fadeout at the end of the 2023 season - one of the worst in NRL history.
In fact, they now hold the record as the team who led the competition the furthest into a season and yet still went on to miss the top eight when it was all said and done.
That is, without a shadow of a doubt, a disaster, and a second year in a row without finals action will leave Jason Demetriou under pressure for his job, and a number of players under pressure for theirs.
The dynamic at Redfern in 2024 is going to be an intriguing one to follow with the arrival of Jack Wighton from the Canberra Raiders. He will be forced to play out of position in the centres, although could yet wind up in the halves if Lachlan Ilias doesn't find dramatic and rapid improvement.
Other players must stand up, and Latrell Mitchell being on the park rather than the sideline would certainly help.
This is a side good enough to go the distance, and anything short of a trip to the big dance in October simply won't be up to par.
