THE groundwork has been done; the hardcore has been laid, the sand and visqueen have topped it off and even the most pernickety of building inspectors has given it the thumbs up.

There are then those few quiet moments before the concrete comes, the chance of a last brew before the sound of the rhythmic churning of the mixer announces its arrival from a couple of streets away.

It is then just you, a shovel, barrow and a tamping plank against the wet stuff for a couple of hours – and whatever you do, don’t get any down your welly because concrete does a great line in skin removal.

Do you reckon this is how the players must feel in the last remaining hours before Super League kicks off?

Although all the fitness work has been done in a gruelling off season, it is only when that first ball is kicked off the tee that you realise that it is going to be hey, lads, hey for the next eight-and-a-bit months.

The fans have had plenty of time to speculate; to compare signings, examine the early fixture list, contemplate how an increasingly competitive division is going to pan out and wonder how such a side can squeeze so-and-so into their squad.

Now it is all about real results and performances.

Before a ball is kicked, this looks like the hardest comp yet to predict, but let’s see how the land lies by Easter.

There is always this assumption that the big four is fixed and that is a private matter for Saints, Wigan, Leeds and Warrington to sort out the order.

Huddersfield broke that mould in fine style last year, and it was just unfortunate that not for the first time they just crumpled a bit under pressure at the business end of the campaign.

From what we hear Giants coach Paul Anderson wants a steelier side this year, one that gets rid of the tag of a club with a soft underbelly when it matters.

They have never had much of a problem starting – there were quite a few shell-shocked faces in 2013, Nathan Brown’s first game since swapping Huddersfield for Saints, with the Giants posting 40 points at Langtree Park.

So Huddersfield have form here and so Saints really will have to be on their mettle for the opener.

Warrington had an absolute shocker of a season in 2015 – and even when their eggs seemed to fall so kindly into the Challenge Cup basket they still managed to be left only with a scrambled mess of shell, yolk and albumen before the summer was out.

The Wolves have bought massively, bringing in experienced men from both the NRL and Super League to give them what they lacked this year.

Wolves and their fans are always confident. Maybe this year, don’t laugh, they have reason to be. If they are expect Kurt Gidley, brother of ex-Saint Matt, to be the decisive signing.

A few have already predicted that Leeds will find last year tough to back up, especially without Kevin Sinfield and Jamie Peacock.

But look at their roster – still the best backline in the comp and a pack that has been beefed up considerably by the arrival of Brett Ferres.

Although Wigan will be missing their star signing Sam Tomkins – and brother Joel – for the first chunk of the campaign, we all know that they will still be up there, producing better results than the names from 1-17 justify.

As for the others – Catalns and Hull have spent again and all the others are up to cap. There aren’t going to be many, if any, easy rounds this time around.

The rumbling is getting closer, get your wellies on!