The Penrith Panthers face the daunting challenge of opening their quest for a fourth-straight NRL title by travelling to Victoria to take on the Melbourne Storm.
The Panthers crunched the Storm in last year's preliminary final, but may face a tougher challenge this time after travelling back from a losing effort in England where they failed to clinch the World Club Challenge.
The better news for Penrith is the return of Jarome Luai after he missed that game, but they are also without Mitch Kenny, who is suspended.
Melbourne, on the other hand, haven't lost a Round 1 clash for as long as Craig Bellamy has been in charge of the club, and on home soil, it's a record they will be desperate to continue.
Their forwards were eaten up and spat out by Penrith in last year's preliminary final, and it's a safe bet to assume that's where the focus has been in pre-season training over the summer.
Despite that, Melbourne come into the game without injured star Cameron Munster, with either Tyran Wishart or Jonah Pezet to play at five-eighth.
This Friday night blockbuster will be available to watch on both Fox Sports and Channel 9 in Australia.
Fox Sports is available through Foxtel with an active sports subscription and coverage will commence at the conclusion of the earlier New Zealand Warriors-Cronulla Sharks match on Fox League (Channel 502).
If you're watching on Channel 9, coverage commences at 7:30pm (AEDT).
To live stream the game, you can either use Foxtel's Kayo Sports, or Channel 9s free 9Now application.
In New Zealand, you can tune in through Sky Sports, or in other places around the world, you can use the Watch NRL app.
Melbourne Storm
1. Ryan Papenhuyzen 2. William Warbrick 3. Reimis Smith 4. Nick Meaney 5. Xavier Coates 20. Jonah Pezet 7. Jahrome Hughes 8. Tui Kamikamica 9. Harry Grant 10. Josh King 11. Joe Chan 12. Eliesa Katoa 13. Trent Loiero
Interchange: 14. Tyran Wishart 15. Christian Welch 16. Chris Lewis 17. Alec MacDonald 18. Shawn Blore 19. Kane Bradley
Penrith Panthers
1. Dylan Edwards 2. Sunia Turuva 3. Izack Tago 4. Taylan May 5. Brian To'o 6. Jarome Luai 7. Nathan Cleary 8. Moses Leota 9. Luke Sommerton 10. James Fisher-Harris 11. Luke Garner 12. Liam Martin 13. Isaah Yeo
Interchange: 15. Lindsay Smith 16. Liam Henry 17. Matt Eisenhuth 19. Soni Luke 18. Daine Laurie 20. Brad Schneider 21. Preston Riki 22. Mavrik Geyer
Click through to Zero Tackle's match centre for updated teams, live scores and stats from the game.
Kick-off: Friday, March 8, 8:05pm (AEDT)
Venue: AAMI Park, Melbourne
Overall head-to-head record: Played 44, Storm 29, Panthers 15
Record at venue: Played 8, Storm 7, Panthers 1
Last meeting: 2023 preliminary final, Panthers 38 defeat Storm 4 at Accor Stadium, Sydney
Referee: Gerard Sutton
The three-time defending premiers enter this clash as the favourites, but it seems to be the toughest game of the round to pick. Penrith pay $1.45, while the Storm, who haven't lost in Round 1 for much of this century, pay $2.75.
The line is set at 6.5 points, while a low-scoring affair is predicted - you can get $1.90 either way on over or under 36.5 points total.
Brian To'o is paying $8 and leads the market for first try-scorer, while Sunia Turuva pays $9. Will Warbrick and Xavier Coates are square at $11.
Odds taken from PointsBet, correct at 11am, Friday March 8.
Think. Is this a bet you really want to place?
The Panthers are the three-time premiers for a reason, but it's hard to imagine there won't be some impact of their trip to England for the World Club Challenge during the early part of the season.
Melbourne couldn't match them in last year's preliminary final and need an enormous turnaround from that game to go with the premiers, but they have this exceptional Round 1 record that simply can't be overlooked. They have also beaten Penrith 7 out of 8 times at AAMI Park.
Impossible to tip again despite their outsider odds, but this game really could go either way.
Storm by 2.