Lebanese rugby league's final Spring Championship begins on Friday, with officials expecting the closest competition yet. The tenth short season of Lebanese rugby league, which kicked off with the 2002 Winter Championship, won by AUB, will be replaced this October with the 20-match Lebanese national championship running until May. This season sees the introduction of USJ to the league, although the Beirut-based side's results will not count in the league record as they use the season to prepare for full league action in October.

Defending champions LAU head into the season as clear favourites, having dominated the Winter Championship to take their title tally to five – three more than each of AUB and Balamand. Player-coach Ibrahim Ballout will deploy the Immortals' usual blend of broadsword and scimitar, with the Hachache brothers and Bassel Nasrallah plowing a damaging furrow up front while quicksilver backs Mohamed Jamil and Jawad Fakih slash away from out wide. Balamand, who have adopted the new nickname Razorbacks this season after the wild boars that roam the northern hinterlands, will be hoping to recapture the form that saw them romp to victory over LAU in the 2006 Spring Championship. Veteran three quarters Gilbert Haydamous and Najy Bassel provide stability out wide, while cunning hooker Darwich Darwiche leads a forward pack comprising Cedars prop Amin Maassarani and boom lock Wael Tawil, as well as a crop of newcomers who will be much better with a debut season under their belts.

If AUB can consistently capture the form they displayed in last season's finale then they will have a say in the outcome of the season. Pernicious lapses in concentration spelt disaster for the Wolves at critical times of the campaign – none more so than in the final when they had LAU rattled only for a knock on to provide the Immortals with the ammunition to land the killer blow. If the coastal side can grasp the value of turning the ball over on its terms rather than through a mistake then they will be a match for anyone. Finally, Club Libanais will be stronger having welcomed NDU's best players to its ranks following NDU's suspension, ratified by the LRLC AGM. Their backline for the opener against Balamand on Friday night is, on paper, the strongest ever fielded in Lebanon, with five current or former Liban Espoir players, but the big question is whether the parts can be molded into a strong sum total. At least the disastrous capitulations of last season should no longer be a factor.

All four sides will play USJ twice in the season, giving ample opportunity for fringe players to get a run while the debutants will gain invaluable experience of weekly football.