Despite the odd criticism that the NRL Nines isnโt an overly important tournament, there can be no doubting the entertainment on show over the past two days.
There were plenty of highlights and the final is something that will not be forgotten any time soon as the Bunnies did it the hard way over a desperate Sharks outfit.
Although South Sydney emerged victorious, it can be argued they were far from the only winners in the second edition of the Auckland 9s.
Winners
Rabbitohs: Obviously South Sydney were the big winners. Not only do they have a nice shiny trophy to add to their NRL Premiership trophy, but they also head home with a great whopping big cheque for their efforts.
The big win however comes in the form of the squad escaping relatively unscathed. Although Adam Reynolds limped off in the closing stages of the final and will go for scans, early reports indicate itโs not a serious injury.
South Sydney send a strong side over, and I have to admit I was surprised how much game time their genuine superstars saw. The likes of Reynolds, Burgess and Luke all saw big minutes, and the possible Reynolds injury aside, it was a risk that paid off big time.
Sharks: Falling just short in the most epic of finals, the Sharks emerge as big winners from the event also. Not only did they pocket a massive pay day but their young players saw plenty of game time and showed Coach Shane Flanagan that he has plenty to play with this season.
Nu Brown, Val Holmes, and Jack Bird all had sensational tournaments, while Beale, Leutele, Sauiluma and Feki all played extremely well also. The surprise packet of the tournament was without a doubt much maligned centre Blake Ayshford, who was named in the team of the tournament. Matt Prior, another who copped a fair amount of flack last season, also had a blinder.
Nu Brown suffered a serious knee injury and will miss up to five months, however having recruited the likes of Barba, Murphy and Stanley, the Sharks are far better equipped to cover his position.
Although itโs a different format, the Sharks showed a fight over the past two days that will excite fans greatly as they head into the season proper.
Panthers: This will be a strange one given they went out without posting a single victory, but the Panthers showed with the naming of their squad that they were there in Auckland through obligation only, and escaped without major injury concerns.
The squad is facing injury concerns with the likes of Mansour and Idris fighting the clock to play in round one, but the fact the likes of Soward and Peachey were not risked showed how little this meant to the Panthers.
They came, they cashed a cheque, saw a couple of extremely talented youngsters in competition and leave without any massive injury problems. It was the best case scenario. Sopoaga looks like a handy pick up.
Matt King: Not only did he score the tournament clinching try, but was amongst the better players across the event. Scored a few tries, made some brilliant defensive decisions and provided a draw card for fans. The perfect use of the retired player spots they have created.
Losers
Warriors: Played some brilliant footy, but fell to the Sharks in the quarters, silencing the majority of the sold out crowd. For the second year straight the Warriors entered the tournament as red hot favourites, but couldnโt convert.
Johnson and co. struggled a little on the Saturday but looked like a million dollars in thrashing the Tigers although were just outclassed by the Sharks in the quarters.
They didnโt disgrace themselves, but only a home town win would have done given the talent on show in that squad.
Titans: Despite naming one of the strongest sides in the competition, the Titans were battered in the opening day and out of contention extremely early. Their embarrassing loss to the Tigers saw them with only the most ridiculous of mathematical chances going into the second day.
Josh Hoffman looked good at times, and there havenโt been reports of any major injuries, so itโs not all bad, but the Titans would have been extremely confident of at least being live on Sunday.
Knights: The Knights named a side more than capable of winning the tournament, yet never really got going. They were the most disappointing side in terms of ability to results. For instance, Manly named a second string side and had three ultra-competitive games.
Although they did contest the quarter finals for the second straight season, apart from a freak try early on, they were never in the game against the Rabbits.
Despite naming the likes of Mullen, Mataโutia and Gagai, they went out without really stamping their authority on the tournament.
Jake Mamo was one of the finds out the tournament, although he may not see first grade action this season given the likes of Gagai, Uate, McManus, the three Mataโutia brothers and Leilua are head of him.
Nu Brown: Heartbreaking injury for one of the Sharks brightest young talents. Five months on the sideline is horrible for any player, but if there is a positive itโs that heโs young enough to fully heal and play plenty of footy in the years to come, if not the end of this season.
Random Thoughts
- How good was that on the siren conversion from the sideline from Valentine Holmes? Itโll be lost in the result of the game, but wow!
- Call me crazy but I really enjoyed the two-day tourney. Yes itโs a distant second to the NRL proper but itโs good fun.
- Many less injuries this season, which is a great thing. The player rotations seemed to be very well managed. Injuries occur at any time, but it looks as though footy was lucky in the last few days.
