JOHNATHAN Thurston gives the Cowboys a welcome boost.

Daly Cherry-Evans is dethroned as Manly’s fitness king in early pre-season testing.

Meanwhile, Kane Elgey has been given a reprieve at the Titans, and some Sharks players help light up the Kokoda Track.

See what your NRL club’s been up to in Summer Slog!

Round 20

BRONCOS

Brisbane’s NYC skipper Patrick Carrigan has graduated from the Holden Cup and pushing for an NRL nod next season.

Having re-signed with the club for a further two years despite interest from the Gold Coast, the 19-year-old is experiencing his first full pre-season as part of the NRL squad.

At 99 kilos, the lock has some big names in front of him with the likes of Josh McGuire and Jack Bird competing for the No. 13 jersey but the Easts Tigers junior is hopeful his hard work will deliver rewards in 2018.

“Hopefully I hook in early in the pre-season, turn some heads and get a crack next year,” Carrigan told Broncos TV.

“Work hard and hopefully the opportunity comes.”

RAIDERS

New Canberra recruit Charlie Gubb has set a goal for himself to secure a place in the round one NRL side.

With Jeff Lima retiring, Dave Taylor off to Toronto and Clay Priest joining the Bulldogs, the 27-year-old forward hopes to establish himself in Ricky Stuart’s top squad.

Gubb made his first grade debut for the Warriors in 2013 where he spent five seasons but has left for a fresh start and new challenge.

“I know all the players whether its reserve grade or NRL, they’ve got a lot of good forwards at Canberra and that’s what they’re known for so it’s a bit of a challenge here,” Gubb said.

“That’s what I’m here for. I’m here to play NRL.

“If I’m playing my best and I’m not in the team, so be it but I want give myself a shot.”

BULLDOGS

Things are looking a little different at Belmore.

The club is paying homage to its past in an effort to solidify its future, and players will return to a new-look training base designed to inspire the young Bulldogs.

Already the club has employed a handful of legends to act as mentors to the current players and ensure the spirit of Canterbury lives on.

And now the entire training base has been decorated with historic photos, a hall of fame, boards of player milestones, and a slick mural depicting former players and moments.

“To see the history around the club brings back so many memories. The club is in great shape and everyone involved who came up with the concept, has done a phenomenal job,” former player Andrew Ryan said.

SHARKS

A handful of Cronulla players are helping to light up the Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea.

The players went to PNG in the off-season and walked the track, linking with the Kokoda Track Foundation.

They helped deliver solar lights to the village of Manari which will help the local school children study.

TITANS

New Gold Coast coach Garth Brennan has leapt to the defence of Kane Elgey.

The 23-year-old returned from a season ending ACL injury this season but struggled to find his groove.

Brennan had a one on one meeting with every player just days after being appointed head coach and told Elgey of the difficulties the eighth immortal, Andrew Johns, faced when returning from the same injury.

Brennan was a lower grades coach at the Knights before Johns retired.

Having seen what the greatest No. 7 to ever play the game had been through, Brennan can sympathise with Elgey’s bumpy comeback.

“I spoke to Kane and he was a little down on confidence last year,” Brennan told foxsports.com.au.

“I remember Andrew Johns, when he came back from his ACL said it took him a long time to get over the demons that come with doing an ACL.

“He’s one of the greatest players ever. You have to cut a kid some slack who has only had 12 months of NRL under his belt.

“I told him ‘don’t be too hard on yourself, one of our immortals struggled coming back from an ACL’.

“People have been critical of him but it’s a clean sheet for me. I’m a new coach and he’s had 12 months to get over the ACL, it’s a chance for him to step up in the New Year and show me he wants the number six jumper and he’s willing to fight for it.”

SEA EAGLES

Daly Cherry-Evans wasn’t expected back for pre-season training until next week.

Instead he returned a week early to set an example for the younger players and new recruits.

One of those players was Lachlan Croker.

The former Raider joins the Sea Eagles on a one-year-deal and took out two of the team’s three time trials.

The skipper claimed the best time for the last of their fitness tests.

“It was certainly a good sign of Lachlan’s fitness as Daly is an exceptional athlete,’’ Trent Barrett told the club website.

“Lachlan will want to keep training because knowing Daly, the next time they do the 2km time trials, the situation may be reversed. ‘Chez’ is very competitive and prides himself on that.

“It was a big effort by Daly. The senior players, except for those in the World Cup, are not back till next week but he wanted to be there on day one to show that we are all in this together.

“I thought it was a good gesture from him because it wasn’t an easy day. He is leading by example.”

STORM

Melbourne will host the World Club Challenge against Leeds next year and stressed they will pick their strongest possible team.

“We will certainly be looking to play our best possible team,” Storm Football Director Frank Ponissi said.

“With the shortened pre-season for a lot of the players (due to the World Cup) we’ve got to keep that in mind, but we are going to work with our performance staff and the players themselves to give them every possible chance to be available for that game.

“It is a game that we value and we are very keen to do well in and win.”

KNIGHTS

Newcastle half Brock Lamb is confident of clicking with new halves partner Connor Watson.

While he knows Trent Hodkinson and Jack Cogger well, new recruit Watson is the favourite to secure the No.6 jersey to start the 2018 season.

In need of a strong combination, aside from staying injury free, Lamb’s focus is on clicking with the new playmaker.

“He’s a good bloke and we’ve had a few laughs already,” Lamb told Knights TV.

“We got along pretty well to start with and hopefully the combination forms on the field.

“There will be a lot of time for us to learn how each other play and how we can organise the team ... so it’s exciting to see how we can build a combination.”

COWBOYS

Johnathan Thurston has returned to training.

The North Queensland skipper underwent shoulder surgery midyear which ended his season but is ahead of schedule, prompting an early return to pre-season training.

“JT had to have some days off through that (rehabilitation) period so he wanted to start a bit earlier,” Paul Green told NRL.com.

“He’ll have testing to see where he is at and what he can and can’t do, but he was tracking really well before we all broke.

“He will probably be doing some modified contact and in terms of weights and running he is not far off, but we will assess him when he gets back.”

Johnathan Thurston (right) has returned to training ahead of schedule. Source: AAP

EELS

Clint Gutherson might be copping it from a few cheeky teammates but he’s happy with where his fitness is sitting as he returns to running.

Gutherson has only just returned to the paddock after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament barely three months ago, and is aiming for a round one return.

Kaysa Pritchard took a cheeky dig at his teammate about his “sloppy rig”, but Gutherson says he intentionally put on weight during his rehabilitation.

“I put on a bit of weight, but that’s what I wanted to do. I tried to put on a bit of weight,” Gutherson said.

“I came back pretty light last year ... it gives me a good starting base.”

Gutherson is hoping to regain the No. 1 jumper for the NRL season kick off in March.

PANTHERS

Sam McKendry is back on the pitch after recovering from a season-ending knee injury earlier this year.

At 28, the veteran forward is a former Kiwi international and has his work cut out for him to push back into Penrith’s top squad next year.

Good to be back training with the team after a rough year. Grateful to be kicking off my 12th season with @PenrithPanthers #pantherpride pic.twitter.com/t2lvlwaNJN — Sam Mckendry (@MckendrySamuel) November 14, 2017

RABBITOHS

South Sydney big bopper Tom Burgess has been keeping one eye on his Rabbitohs teammates while he’s busy with England at the World Cup.

In particular, he’s been keeping tabs on twin brother George, who’s battling away at NRL pre-season.

“We’ve been keeping in contact, there’s a new group now that has been set up and it looks like they’ve been training really hard,” Tom told the club website.

“I’ve been talking to George and heard he’s been putting in the hard yards and was rewarded with trainer of the week. So it’s great to hear that he’s been going really well.”

DRAGONS

St George Illawarra young gun Tristan Sailor is fast learning just what it takes to cut it as an NRL player.

The son of cross-code great Wendell, the teenage Sailor has been added to the club’s development squad and is training with the first grade players during pre-season.

“It was tough ... we did fitness testing last week, but (today) was our first proper conditioning session,” Sailor said this week.

“Especially the step up from 20s, it was a new level ... it’s just getting used to it I guess.

You can tell how much more intense and professional it is.

“Even the gym, field, everything is more intense. We have an hour wrestling session this arvo which for little guys like me is a big step up.”

Sailor wants to put on more weight and build his body up before he makes his NRL debut.

ROOSTERS

Michael Gordon had a great day at the annual Easts League Tag Gala Day #RiseUp #Represent https://t.co/2opzLpuASF pic.twitter.com/7uCf4nHrDI — Sydney Roosters (@sydneyroosters) November 16, 2017

WARRIORS

Stephen Kearney has sought the help of an old friend in an effort to steel the Warriors’ defence and make them a finals contender in 2018.

The Warriors can be flashy in attack but it’s their attitude in defence that often lets them down, and the club has struggled to crack the NRL’s top eight in recent years.

Kearney has employed former Melbourne teammate Brett O’Farrell to improve the team’s defence over pre-season.

“I got in contact with Stephen Kearney — former teammate at the Melbourne Storm — I said mate seeing as you’re at the Warriors I think I can help you out and do a few things there,” O’Farrell told Warriors TV.

“Not only in the tackle but with their ball carries as well.

“Definitely speeding up the play the ball, that’s one thing that I do contribute to ... I believe it’s a bit untouched there with what we can do in the NRL.

“With the personnel of players we have here, if we can speed the play the ball up I believe we can play a bit more football.

“Stripping it right back to foundations and working from there, building it up, getting the boys to understand what to do in the tackle and also in the ruck.”

TIGERS

New Wests Tigers recruit Josh Reynolds acknowledges the pressure that comes with a hefty price tag.

Leaving Canterbury for a four-year-deal worth around $750,000 a season, Reynolds knows his lofty contract comes with expectation to match.

“I know if I have a couple of bad games people are going to say ‘oh, he’s not worth the money’,” Reynolds told the club website.

“I’d be dead set lying if I said I didn’t feel the pressure of living up to it.”