With relegation having been reintroduced into the league for the 2018-19 campaign, there will be an extra spice to proceedings for the 16 teams involved this season.
Defending champions Merthyr kick-off their campaign at the Arms Park against Cardiff and captain Craig Locke is relishing the opportunity of playing in front of live TV audiences this season.
One game from each round of the Premiership – starting next weekend – will be screened live by BBC Wales.
“It’s exciting times for the league with all the changes,” said Locke.
“It’s great there will be games shown live on TV because it will make all the boys raise their game even further. Last year there were a couple of times when we were on TV and we didn’t perform as well as we can, so we want to put that right this season and show people how good we are.
“It’s going to be tough. Even though we are the defending champions we will not be looking further than the first game of the season against Cardiff.
“You can’t get a bigger opener than going to the capital city to play Cardiff. There’s nothing like jumping in at the deep end.
“I feel sorry for the coaches who have to pick a team for the weekend because we have a lot of quality and strength in depth in our squad.”
There will be many sides out to wrestle the title away from the Ironmen this season.
Bedwas are one team with huge ambitions and head coach Stefan Sankala is hoping to get off to a winning start at home to Pontypridd this weekend.
“Everybody has worked hard over the summer and we are chomping at the bit to get going,” he said.
“It’s a defining year for every club with relegation back and it could be an unforgiving year in the Premiership.
“But it’s also an exciting season with the addition of the BBC and S4C showing live games. It’s an opportunity for us to showcase our talents.
“The added exposure is very important and if we want to develop future professional rugby players, then they are going to have to cope with the challenge of playing in front of the TV cameras and in must-win games.
“Ultimately we stand and fall on this season. We know what to expect from Pontypridd and all our pre-season preparation has been geared towards beating them.”
Premiership powerhouses Pontypridd are also confident of a strong league campaign.
The Valleys club were crowned champions four times in a row between 2011 and 2015 and are desperate to regain their crown.
“The Premiership will be a lot more exciting this season with the TV on board and it’s nice to see the competition get more exposure,” said captain Dafydd Lockyer.
“It’s also great for players who missed out on professional rugby when they were younger to have a taste of playing in front of the cameras. We did well last season with what we had, but as soon as we had a couple of bumps we fell away.
“So it’s great we’ve got a lot of new faces in the squad which will hopefully strengthen us. Every season we are looking to win silverware whether it be in the league or the cup.
“If we can start with a good win against Bedwas we will get a little bit of momentum and hopefully we can go on to have a very strong campaign.”
Elsewhere Llanelli welcome Ebbw Vale to Parc y Scarlets while Cross Keys – who have been boosted by the signings of Jason Tovey and Damien Welch – face Bridgend.
One side who will be expected to perform strongly are RGC 1404 with the north Wales side a growing force in Welsh rugby.
Head coach Mark Jones is confident of another strong campaign ahead of their opener against Neath (at Ruthin RFC).
“I’m confident the Premiership will continue to be an entertaining product because there have been been a lot of tries scored over the past few years,” he said.
“We’ve worked very hard in pre-season and the boys have given themselves the best chance to do well this season. Once they get over the whitewash the opposition will do their best to disrupt us, but that’s something we have to deal with.
“We’ve lost some players to the professional game which is great but my job is to incorporate our new guys into the team.”
Carmarthen Quins will also host Newport while Swansea travel to Aberavon.
Principality Premiership round one fixtures (all kick-offs 2.30pm)
Aberavon vs Swansea
Bargoed vs Llandovery
Bedwas vs Pontypridd
Cardiff vs Merthyr
Carmarthen Quins vs Newport
Cross Keys vs Bridgend
Llanelli vs Ebbw Vale
RGC1404 vs Neath (at Ruthin RFC)
