This season sees the introduction of a new side to our division - Luton Vipers. Luton Vipers were a well-known RL name a few years back, and a bunch of keen RL fans and players have resurrected the name and formed a new side. Which means two great things - firstly, there's more people playing RL in the region. And secondly, we've got a brand new local rival!

So, with some early trash-talking on the social media to stoke the fires nicely, we welcomed the Vipers to the Valley for our last pre-season hit-out before the defence of our hard-earned league title begins.

And the Vipers proved they'd be no pushover this year. The newbies certainly gave us a scare, and will be a match for anyone in this league on their day.

With less than 5 minutes remaining, Luton led by what you would think would be a fairly comfortable 10 points, but two late MK tries and a last-gasp pressure conversion from skipper Scott Aspinall saw MK edge it by 34-32.

Great character to claw it back from the brink, but most of us would prefer a less nervy watch...

So fair play to Luton - great game, and good luck for the season. It's fantastic to have another local side playing RL, and here's hoping that's just the first of many thrilling matches we'll play together over many years to come.

So with the pre-season fun and games out of the way, the serous business begins. The fixture list has been tweaked, so take a look here FIXTURES.

And let's have EVERYONE get to training, Weds, 7.30pm at Emerson Valley.

Winning a trophy makes you a good team. Defending it makes you a great team.