With just over a month until the first day of the second Auckland NRL Nines tournament, I’m sure NRL coaches are close to having selected their squad for the event.
I thoroughly enjoyed the tournament last season. We saw some amazing tries, some amazing finishes and the crowd was huge and loud.
I, like everyone else, wanted my side to win the competition last year, and will again this year, but just how important is the tournament to fans?
North Queensland Cowboys fans will obviously say very, as the inaugural tournament win was their first major trophy since entering the NRL competition.
I doubt anyone out there would say they wouldn’t want their side to hold up the coloured wave come Februry 1st, but how much does it really mean?
Would you be willing to watch your NRL side risk their best players to chase glory, and riches, in the two-day tourney?
Last season we saw major injuries to a host of big name players. Jarrod Mullen and Todd Carney suffered injuries and as a result missed the start of the season for their NRL clubs. We know how ‘well’ the Newcastle Knights and Cronulla Sharks did in 2014.
The Cowboys managed to win the tourney without their superstar Johnathan Thurston, which is pretty much the perfect scenario, but there’s likely to be more stars at the tournament this season as this isn’t following a World Cup.
Personally I’m not sold on considering the Nine’s trophy as a ‘drought breaker’. If the Sharks, Warriors or Titans were to win it, does it truly mean the end of their trophy drought?
Both the Sharks and Warriors have titles in secondary divisions (NSW Cup, Holden Cup), yet fans of other teams are quick to point out that their trophy cabinets are still empty.
Don’t get me wrong, if my side win the tournament I will celebrate, I hope my side wins every game they take part in, be it NRL deciders or pre-season trial matches, but the Nines, although fun, doesn’t rate anywhere near as important as the NRL Premiership.
That is just my opinion tho, I’d be very interested to hear if fans consider it to be an important tournament.
There’s no doubt that the Warriors will again pick a strong side, as they want to lift the trophy in front of their own fans.
The Cowboys will likely send another decent side to try and defend their trophy. It’s a confidence booster and would surely fire the young guns within the Cowboys come the start of the NRL season.
Perhaps a true indication of how the sides view it is the fact the Roosters, then defending NRL Premiers, sent a severely understrength side to the tournament. They sent a returning Brad Fittler to contest the tourney, and although his inclusion was a lot of fun, there’s no arguing that James Maloney would have been more important to the side’s chances of winning.
Will teams start dedicating training to the game? Surely they won’t go in without having run a few drills, but will any NRL sides sacrifice genuine training sessions for the two-day event?
These are all genuine questions that I cannot answer.
Being that this is only the second time the Nines will be staged, it’s impossible to tell just how seriously clubs treat it.
Last season most clubs sent decent squads, some sent the bare minimum requirement of stars, some sent squads with obvious intents to win the tournament.
I’m looking forward to the Nines, and as I mentioned, hopefully it’s my side lifting the wave, however I won’t shed many tears should we get knocked out without suffering any injuries.