When you forge a Samurai sword, you use the same fine steel and you fold it over 200 times. Combining heat and force to forge the perfect blade, strong and yet flexible enough to bend and not break.

The North Queensland Cowboys have chosen not to change their premiership line-up, a team forged in the heat of battle over the last few seasons, which became the sword that removed the Premiership monkey from their backs with their victory in the 2015 Grand Final. The Provan/Summons Trophy was brought back to the North, and it has seem more of Northern Australia than Mick Dundee as it toured every town and village, Island and city that represents the home of the Cowboys.

North Queensland has signed only two new players into their squad this season, and both are high quality young men who will be lucky to get a game this year, outside of Blackhawks Intrust Super Cup games. The team that took it all remains mainly undisturbed, with the departures coming from replacement players who plied their trade in the ISC.

Paul Green and his selection team are growing the replacements from those currently listed already in the side and on player development programs for outstanding junior talent. They are securing a number of players of the future from the local sides in the North Queensland region and helping them develop at a natural pace. The fertile fields that have led to State Champions in Under 16’s and 18’s as well as the National Schoolboys Champions by the Kirwan State High School Bears team are being closely monitored for those players who will look to replace the men who brought the NRL Premiership to the real home of Rugby League.

This tactic of develop and not purchase is similar to the methods followed by two of the most consistent performers in the NFL, where both New England and Green Bay have been very happy to draft and develop to maintain their long term success. It is clear that this is the method preferred by Paul Green and with the standout performances of local talent such as Michael Morgan and Ethan Lowe, it is clear that this tactic can bear fruit in a timely manner.

North Queensland Cowboys resumed training this week, hitting the weight rooms and shaking off the post celebration rust, and it was not surprising to see the future Immortal Jonathan Thurston being one of the first into the rooms. Matt Scott is recuperating from successful neck surgery where he underwent a similar operation that his partner in crime, James Tamou underwent the previous season. All reports are of a better than expected outcome and he is raring to go.

That the lack of signings allows for has two major advantages. The playing group, a well-travelled unit does not have to worry about any new personality dynamics, and they are already on the same page as the coaching staff. This stability, rare in Rugby League circles will be tested at home and abroad in the coming months.

The boys have some serious football ahead of the regular season, with the Auckland Nines kicking off in early February. This fast paced tournament will probably contain a number of fringe players due to other major commitments. At this time, they have scheduled only one pre-season warm up game against the Brisbane Broncos in Rockhampton before heading overseas to contest the World Club Series facing the Leeds Rhinos on Sunday the 21st of February to decide the best club team in the world.

They will then return home to undertake the hardest task in football, the defence of their title.

Can they do it? The draw was recently released and they have a large number of games against last season’s best performers. The24 matches they face this year will be against teams wanting to beat the premiers as their motivation and so the 12 home games will be more important than ever. South Sydney has moved one game to Cairns and so the Cowboys can easily claim that they have 13 home games this season. They will need to make the most of this home ground advantage, and also hit the ground running as their slow start to the previous season that left them in last after three rounds may weigh down their season this time due to the huge target of defending champions weighting them down.

This team is a combination of old hands and future internationals. The balance of experience and youthful adventure is what led them to the greatest feeling the game can give. Whilst their premiership rings are memorials to their achievements, it is their future that they are now in command of. It starts with the Sharks on a hot autumn night in Townsville, will it end in early October with more premiership glory.

They know they have the players, they know how to win it all, and every team is scared at how quickly than can put on the points. They are my Premiership Favourites, are they yours?