With the summer sun still blaring down on us, cricket all over our televisions and plenty of BBQs still to be had, it’s hard to think the footy season is nearly upon us.

But with the 2012 NAB cup kicking off this Friday, fans are dusting off their favourite guernsey in anticipation for their team’s first outing of the year.

Similar to last year's draw, the first round of the NAB Cup has been split into two weeks, with the first game on Friday between Hawthorn, North Melbourne and Richmond being played at Etihad Stadium.
 
All three teams are coming off indifferent 2011 seasons - the Hawks facing the heartbreak of a close preliminary final loss, the Kangaroos finished an inconsistent ninth, missing the finals by a mere game and the Tiger's rebuilding year not exactly going to plan, ending up 11^thon the ladder at season's end.
 
Young midfielder Andrew Swallow has taken over the role as skipper for the Roos while Richmond will miss the experienced Brett Deleido for the first game back after injuring his hamstring in the team's intra-club match.
 
MY TIP: Look for the Hawks to be too strong for these two up-and-coming teams, taking the round win.
 
Saturday’s game marks another milestone for the AFL’s newest franchise, the Greater Western Sydney (GWS) Giants, as they host Collingwood and the Western Bulldogs at the Blacktown International Sportspark in Sydney.
 
On Tuesday, the club announced Callan Ward, Phil Davis and Luke Power as co-captains.
 
Ward, at 21, will become the sixth youngest captain in the history of the AFL and the youngest since Michael Voss in 1997 with the Brisbane Lions.
 
The interest in this matchup will spread up to rugby territory, as Queenslanders and NSW fans tune in to see NRL convert, Isreal Folau, take to the field.
 
GWS coach Kevin Sheedy has confirmed Folau will start, lining up at full forward.
 
MY TIP: With Collingwood expected to try out their youth, and GWS still in its first year, the Bulldogs are expected to give it their all after a disappointing 2011 and start the year with a win.

Heading west to Patterson Stadium on Sunday, the two Western Australian teams, Fremantle and West Coast, will join Essendon for the third game of the round.
 
All three teams will be expecting a finals berth in 2012 and will take this pre-season seriously.
 
This matchup will be the closest of the first week.
 
The Dockers players will want to shake off the plague of injury that interrupted 2011 and impress controversial new coach Ross Lyon.
 
The Eagles, after going from bottom in 2010 to a preliminary final last year, will want to show it wasn’t a fluke and Essendon’s coach James Hird wants the team to become a genuine flag threat in the coming season.
 
MY TIP: With the home ground advantage, the Eagles or the Dockers should take the cake on Sunday.

The NAB Cup format will see round one continue on next week with games on Friday, Saturday and Sunday showcasing the rest of the teams in the competition. 
 
After round one, which will feature three teams each in a shortened game, the next two rounds will go back to the traditional two team playoff in fully timed games.
 
The fifth week of the pre-season tournament has fully timed games in regional and metropolitan areas, while the top two ranked teams from the first three rounds will battle it out in the grand final on Saturday March 17.