A brand-new NRL season kicks off for the New Zealand Warriors on Saturday. Simply making it to the starting line unsoiled by any kind of scandal or upheaval has created an atmosphere of hope and confidence at the club and amongst the fans and media that has not been seen for several years.

In retrospect, it's clear that the psychological and competitive disadvantage of a points deduction at the 2006 season's outset was nigh on impossible to overcome. However, having come through that particular maelstrom, the players seem hardened and ready to prove themselves in the 2007 competition unrestrained by any handicap.

In a salary-cap era, the NRL that  the Warriors compete in is becoming increasingly characterised by parity and a team of Rugby League stars simply cannot be maintained for a sufficient length of time for true dynasties to become established.

The 2002-2004 Sydney Roosters are the only NRL team since 2000 to defy this logic, making three consecutive grand finals, but winning only one. This seems like an anomaly and questions exist about how that  Roosters team managed to comply with the cap - but that's a subject for a separate article. Of the four teams that made the grand final in 2004 (Roosters v Bulldogs) and 2005 (Tigers v Cowboys) none even managed to make the top eight the following year. Accordingly we will have to wait and see whether the same drop-off could happen for the 2006 grand finalists, the Storm and Broncos.

NRL parity is not something we should be complaining about - it is the natural and intended result of a salary-cap system and makes the NRL sustainable. NFL and NBA salary caps have the same effect. For the NRL, the English Super League and world Rugby Union acts like an overflow into which highly-paid players can eventually drop when their fame, talent and experience (read age) become too great for their salary demands to be satisfied by any NRL club. In this way, each NRL season a new crop of talented young league players get a shot in first-grade NRL competition and this keeps the NRL fresh and open. The salary cap has been increased for 2007 to A$4m.

A successful NRL club in compliance with the salary cap must be one formed with an eye to the future out of an ideal combination of young and improving players and established stars, together with a few "sleepers" - overlooked or underrated players who perform above their pay packet. At this moment the 2007 New Zealand Warriors look to be a club with just this sort of combination.

Steven Price and Rueben Wiki form a bedrock of talent and experience in the forwards. Each is a seasoned international veteran with a contract with the Warriors until the end of 2008 that should see them through to the end of the careers. These two guys know their window of opportunity for an NRL title with the Warriors is closing; despite their previous successes with the Bulldogs and Canberra respectively, this has got to be a driving motivator for a big season.

In the young and improving department the Warriors are literally awash in riches with powerful forward/centre Simon Mannering, former Eels fullback recruit Wade McKinnon and rampaging winger Manu Vatuvei prime examples. Perhaps the NRL find of 2006 was rookie sleeper Grant Rovelli, plucked by Warriors coach Ivan Clear from obscurity in premiership Rugby League (sub NRL level) and now a clear first-choice for the Warriors at halfback. Not forgetting  Lance Hohaiha, who after a few injury-affected seasons is overdue to awaken from his 'slumber' and display his fantastic ball-playing talent in any of four positions (hooker, halfback, standoff or centre).

So as the curtain rises on the NRL 2007, the competition looks encouragingly open - it is imaginable that virtually any permutation of the 16 teams could form the top eight who will go into the playoffs at the close of the regular season.

With this in mind, the Warriors' opportunity to shine looks tantalising - last season's tenth placing would have been eighth but for the four points deduction for salary-cap breaches. Accordingly I think the fans can justifiably hope for a top-eight spot at an absolute minimum - with a real shot at the top four.