IT used to be the norm that teams went away for a pre-season training camp, but now some are cutting their cloth accordingly and are staying at home. With Hull KR and Hull FC both having a massive influx of new players, going to places like Portugal is a necessity.
It's vital players spend time away from the pitch to get to know each other.
It's a vital season for both clubs so it's important that everyone pulls in the same direction.
When you're spending 24 hours a day for seven days together you get to know each other's idiosyncrasies and there will be friendships made that will help both clubs in their battle to make the top eight.
I must admit Portugal's a far cry from my first season at Hull FC.
We went to Blackpool ... and I seem to remember we spent an awful lot of time in the pub!
Seriously, though, at this time of the year the weather in Britain is not guaranteed, the state of the pitches can be poor, they could be claggy and it's cold, and it's not conducive for getting teams to run with the ball.
You can do all the fitness work in the world and run up and down hills, but there's only a few weeks before the pre-season friendlies and Super League itself starts in around two months.
It's vital teams start to do running plays with the ball and to do that you need decent weather and good pitches, especially when, like FC and KR, you have had that influx of new players.
Both have new half-backs and KR have a whole new spine, so warm-weather work becomes a necessity, rather than a "nice-to-have".
With both teams placing an emphasis on young players, it's massive for them to experience what it's like to be a professional player.
They have a chance to see the senior pros' 24/7 and see them acting as role models.
Normally they would only see them at training and not normally outside the work environment.
Out in Portugal the younger players get a chance to see how the established stars lead their lives and that can surely only be good for both clubs.
Chris Chester at KR has used the club's Portugal trip as a reward for his players hard work so far in pre-season training.
Ask any player if they'd prefer to do the same job in England or somewhere warm like Portugal at this time of the year and it would be a no-brainer for most of them.
It is a bit of a reward but, as I've already said, with both clubs seeing new half-backs and in KR's case a new spine, it's vital players get to know each other on and off the field.
Chester has made no secret of the fact that he has made life "tough" for his players and taken away all the luxuries, the massages and the ice baths for a month.
There's nothing wrong with that.
The game has moved on from when I was playing and today's players know they have the best of everything on tap in terms of training, rehab and physio.
All of those things are designed to help players produce their best performances, but maybe by taking them away for a while it makes them appreciate what they've got.
