Who would have thought that when the 2020 fixture was released that this was how the year would have ended up?
Teams in hubs. A halfback banned for a dance video. A coach sidelined for grabbing dinner. The Warriors calling Tamworth and not Auckland home.
Due to arrival of an unforeseen and, as of yet, untameable virus, the game, like the rest of the world, was forced to make compromises.
With these changes came a fresh batch of terms to enter the Rugby League lexicon, as well as the array of previously unthought of headlines that appeared on mastheads everywhere.
So despite a season that provided challenges for everyone involved in the game, it has also supplied many moments (both good and bad) that will live long in our memories.
Here are the top 10 headlines from a season unlike any before it.
4. The bubble breaches
In a season where everything was on the line in regard to profits, safety and the ability to get the game back up and running, players were placed under the strictest protocols ever known.
There was to be no socialising with anyone outside of your locker or lounge rooms, invasive nasal tests would need to be conducted multiple times a week and all of this on a discounted wage. These practices also tightened when were forced to depart their take up residence inside hubs across the northern states.
However, with the average age of an NRL player being just a tick over 26, we were going to see these bubbles burst inevitably.
Whether it be a halfback tik toking with unsolicited guests, a mastermind coach caught illegally lunching at a Leichhardt restaurant, a big name forward popping into a bikie's barbershop or a pack of Broncos running wild through a pokies lounge, the breaches ranged from idiotic to inexcusable.
A pricey lunch for Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett. #NRLhttps://t.co/WCpsDKZKFe
— ZeroTackle.com (@zerotackle) August 8, 2020
With the prevailing sentiment that the 2021 season is likely to be conducted closer to normality, fans and players alike will be overjoyed that terms such as breach, bubble and hub can be removed from their shared vernacular.