The Toronto Wolfpack are finally coming home — sort of.

After months of playing in the U.K., plus a trip to the south of France for good measure, the team is set for its first game on Canadian soil on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET. It'll be a brief trip though, as the Wolfpack return to England for three more matches before closing out the regular season in Toronto with eight straight matches starting June 9.

While diehard supporters have been waking up with the Wolfpack on weekends since mid-winter, casual fans can be forgiven for falling a bit behind. Don't fret: Canada's lone professional rugby team is still dominant, but there are some new faces and new challenges to deal with in the second-tier Betfred Championship.

Here's a look back at the first half of the Wolfpack's season, as well as what to look forward to for the remainder of the campaign.

New league? No problem

To put it kindly, some of the Wolfpack's wins last year in the Rugby Football League's third tier would make the Harlem Globetrotters blush. It's a higher-calibre of competition in the Betfred Championship, meaning the days of 50-point blowouts are likely done.

Toronto still boasts a 10-1-1 record this season — and a one-point lead for first place — largely due to a stingy defence that has conceded the fewest points in the league so far this season. The Wolfpack's lone loss of 2018 came against the London Broncos in late February, but the team rebounded with eight straight wins in league competition.

That streak is actually 10 in a row if you factor in the concurrently contested Ladbrokes Challenge Cup. The Wolfpack's next opponent in that competition is the Warrington Wolves from the top-tier Super League. The broadcasters may simply want to use the city names when calling that lupine-loaded showdown.

Remember Kes?

The Wolfpack needed a new kicker after last year's captain and League 1 MVP Craig Hall left in the off-season.. Enter Ryan Brierley, whose impact on the team has only grown since joining Toronto halfway through last season.

Nicknamed "Kes" for his resemblance to the protagonist in the British coming-of-age film Kes, Brierley has been the focal point of the Wolfpack offence this season. The Scottish international's kicking form has improved after early inconsistencies, but his on-field vision and knack for scoring tries have more than kept the team afloat.

Brierley is just one of several veterans from the inaugural season who continue to contribute against tougher opposition. Lethal winger Liam Kay remains a constant scoring threat — not to mention a game-saving defender — while Greg Worthington's yeoman-like efforts have bailed the team out on more than one occasion.

Even with Worthington and other players missing time due to injury, the Wolfpack are well-stocked with quality options like Blake Wallace and Jack Bussey to shoulder the burden. Still, head coach Paul Rowley made a point at the end of last season of building the team's depth, and has certainly followed through.

Meet your new favourite players

Toronto bolstered its ranks with a slew of new additions in the off-season and throughout the current campaign. While some of them didn't pan out — cough, Dave Taylor — key additions like Andy Ackers, Nick Rawsthorne and new captain Josh McCrone have paid dividends, while the creative playmaking of mid-season signing Gareth O'Brien has added another dimension to the Wolfpack attack.

Like any professional sports team, the departure and arrival of players is bound to happen. Hall's departure was followed a few months later by the training-camp dismissal of bruising forward Fuifui Moimoi, who was let go along with Ryan Bailey and the aforementioned Taylor. Even O'Brien's impressive efforts precipitated the departure of fan favourite Quentin Laulu-Togaga'e.

For Wolfpack fans eager to crowd the beer garden at Lamport Stadium — or make the trek north to Markham, Ont., as is the case for Saturday's game — there are still familiar faces from last year, plus new favourites to be claimed.

It's shaping up to be another rugby-filled summer in Toronto, so if you do decide to go all out and wear a wolf onesie, stay hydrated because the humidity hits harder than a Cory Paterson tackle.