2015 Auckland Nines

Who will win the second NRL Auckland Nines title? Can the Warriors finally claim a trophy or will the North Queensland Cowboys ride home and defend their title

The second NRL Auckland Nines tournament starts on Saturday the 31^st of January where the stars of the NRL scene grace Auckland’s shores to help their team win the Dick Smith Auckland Nines title with the winner claiming a pay cheque of $2million dollars.

Auckland has been extremely hot throughout January so expect the players to be feeling the effects of starting their season now.

Key points about the tournament (or to refresh your memory)

This weekend we will see:

• Squads are made up of 18 players (1 superstar, 12 of your clubs best players and the other members are from either the U20’s or feeder teams (NSW Cup or QLD Cup))
• Nine minute half’s
• Two players can come on at one time with teams having a five man interchange bench
• Scrums are the same but will have 5 men not 6
• After a team has kicked a 40/20 they will be able to restart the game with a tap from where the ball is marked by a touch judge.
• Tries are worth 4 points however if a try is scored in the “bonus zone” that try is worth 5 points
• Drop kicks will be used to take conversions and penalty kick, these will be worth two points and a drop goal is worth one.

Teams and Pools:

This year pool names are based on famous Maori places around Auckland (Hunua, Waiheke, Rangitoto and Piha) Heres who we think will make the quarter finals from each pool.

Hunua:

Teams in this pool: West Tigers, New Zealand Warriors, Canberra Raiders and Gold Coast Titans

I expect the Warriors to go through undefeated as these teams are easy beats. However I feel that Titans will get through just as the Tigers are inconsistent. Don’t expect much from the Canberra Raiders, if they get within 6 points of a side that’s a good result for them.

Players to watch out for:  Shaun Johnson (Warriors), Ken Nagas (Raiders), Tim Simona (Tigers) Dave Taylor (Titans)

Waiheke:

Teams in this pool:   Melbourne Storm, North Queensland Cowboys, Penrith Panthers, South Sydney Rabbitohs

This pool is an easy one to pick, with the Storm and the Panthers struggling to beat the Cowboys and Rabbitohs due to their weak squads.

Players to watch out for:  Will Chambers (Storm), Jason Taumalolo (Cowboys), Kevin Kingston (Panthers) Isaac Luke (Rabbitohs)

Rangitoto:

Teams in this pool: Parramatta Eels, Sea Eagles, Knights, Dragons

This pool is the toughest of the lot to pick as all four teams have picked strong sides. I think the Dragons will go through in top spot with Benji Marshall and Josh Dugan being influential players to their side. I think the Eels will second spot as they have a stronger backline than the Sea Eagles and Knights.

Players to watch out for:  Kieran Foran (Sea Eagles), Jarrod Mullen (Knights), Chris Sandow (Eels) Benji Marshall (Dragons)

Piha:

Sydney City Roosters, Brisbane Broncos, Canterbury Bulldogs, Cronulla Sharks

I think the Roosters and the Broncos will make it safety out of this pool. This is because both sides are packed with youth, flair and stars that can handle the pressure. I cant see the Bulldogs and Sharks making it as both sides seem weak in star power and experience is everything in tournaments.

Players to watch out for: Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (Roosters), Josh Morris, (Bulldogs), Gerard Beale (Sharks), Anthony Milford (Broncos)

9 things we expect may happen in the nines:

1. Ken Nagas will go off the field with an injury (most likely short of breathe)
2. Shaun Johnson will make the most line breaks with 15
3. Expect two things from Jared Waerea-Hargreaves (Roosters) , he will either run through the opposition and set up some trys or he will be in the bin
4. Hopefully there will be no season ending injuries this year like what happened to Lachlan Coote (Cowboys) who ruptured his ACL
5. Top try scorer and player of the tournament will be Anthony Milford and he will score a try from an intercept
6. Top points scorer will be Adam Reynolds (Rabbitohs)
7. The man who make the most errors will be Feleti Mateo (Sea Eagles)
8. Longest drop kick will go to Pat Richards (Tigers) who has kicked drop goals from 60+ meters out and they have sailed over the posts
9. Don’t be surprised to see the referees making some bizarre calls

My pick as to who will win:

The North Queensland Cowboys to defend their title in a golden point thriller over the Sydney City Roosters.