The teams in the Piha group for this year’s Auckland Nines are the Sydney Roosters, Brisbane Broncos, Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs and the Cronulla Sutherland Sharks.
The squads are as follows:
Sydney Roosters
Mitchell Aubusson, Brendan Elliot, Kane Evans, Jackson Hastings, Samisoni Langi, Nene Macdonald, James Maloney, Willie Manu, Sam Moa, Taane Milne, Dylan Napa, Mitchell Pearce (c), Lagi Setu, Nathan Stapleton, Siosiua Taukeiaho, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves (c), Mitchell Williams.
Brisbane Broncos
Andrew McCullough (captain), Ajuma Adams, Elijah Alick, Joe Boyce, Greg Eden, James Gavet, Alex Glenn, Todd Lowrie, Lachlan Maranta, Anthony Milford, Francis Molo, Darren Nicholls, Jayden Nikorima, Kodi Nikorima, Joe Ofahengaue, Tom Opacic, Matt Parcell, Aaron Whitchurch.
Canterbury Bulldogs
Tim Browne, Damien Cook, Levi Dodd, Adam Elliott, Herman Ese’ese, Antonio Kaufusi, Shaun Lane, Michael Lichaa, Moses Mbye, Josh Morris, Sam Perrett, Lloyd Perrett, Tyrone Phillips, Frank Pritchard, Curtis Rona, Corey Thompson, Aiden Tolman, Tony Williams.
Cronulla Sharks
Luke Lewis (c), Valentine Holmes, Sosaia Feki, Gerard Beale, Ricky Leutele, Jack Bird, Nu Brown, Kyle Stanley, Sam Tagataese, Pat Politoni, Tinirau Arona, Matt Prior, Chris Heighington, Blake Ayshford, Nathan Gardner, Todd Murphy, Sami Sauiluma, Junior Roqica.
The draw for the Piha group is as follows (All times New Zealand local time)
Game 7 – Sydney Roosters versus Brisbane Broncos @ 3:15pm on Saturday January 31
Game 8 – Canterbury Bulldogs versus Cronulla Sharks @ 3:40pm on Saturday January 31
Game 15 – Sydney Roosters versus Canterbury Bulldogs @ 7:05pm on Saturday January 31
Game 16 – Brisbane Broncos versus Cronulla Sharks @ 7:30pm on Saturday January 31
Game 23 – Sydney Roosters versus Cronulla Sharks @ 2:30pm on Sunday February 1
Game 24 – Brisbane Broncos versus Canterbury Bulldogs @ 2:55pm on Sunday February 1
The teams in the Piha group all have something to prove in this season and there will be no better place to start than the Auckland Nines.
The Roosters need to prove they still have it after missing the grand final last year, and that there’s life after Sonny Bill Williams. The Broncos need to prove they were right in signing Wayne Bennett. The Bulldogs need to show that they can go one step better this year. The Sharks need to prove now that ASADA are off their back they can produce some quality football with a full squad.
The Roosters have named a strong squad and it looks as though they want to win the 2015 edition. They are going to be lead by co-captains Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and Mitchell Pearce, with backup from first-grade players such as Dylan Napa, James Maloney, Sam Moa, Nathan Stapelton and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck.
They have also named players who one could imagine will excel in the nines format like Jackson Hastings and Nene Mcdonald. And let’s face it, not to many teams with nine players are going to be able to stop Hargreaves. If their squad is any indication then the Roosters are taking this tournament extremely seriously.
The Broncos have gone with a squad that, while not inspiring the same level of confidence as the Roosters’, is quite strong. They will be lead by Andrew McCullough and they have named their biggest recruit for 2015, Anthony Milford, which is a massive risk especially with all the injuries suffered in the fullback department in Brisbane. Greg Eden, the fullback who has come from England, has also been named.
Other regular first-graders such as Alex Glenn and Lachlan Maranta have been named along with a number of exciting youngsters. The Broncos will no doubt have to play to the best of their ability to get to the quarter finals but the potential is there.
The Bulldogs have named arguably the weakest squad in the Piha group. Antonio Kaufusi, who is returning to the NRL, is in the squad joined by other regular first-graders Josh Morris, Sam Perrett, Frank Pritchard, Corey Thompson, Aiden Tolman and Tony Williams. Interestingly, new star recruit Brett Morris, who played for the St George Illawarra Dragons in last year’s Auckland Nines, has been left out of the squad, probably because of his off-season shoulder surgery. Other players who could tilt the balance in the Bulldogs’ favour include Moses Mbye, Curtis Rona, Michael Lichaa and Tim Browne.
There is no doubt the Bulldogs x-factor is Tony Williams. If he has a good tournament he could be next to unstoppable. The Bulldogs have named a strong squad, yet in this group of very strong teams could still miss the finals.
The Sharks have named quite a young and strong squad for the Nines, but like Canterbury it still doesn’t seem to match the Roosters. Luke Lewis has been named captain of a squad featuring three recruits they picked up off the Dragons in Kyle Stanley, Jackson Bird and Gerard Beale. Blake Ayshford, Nu Brown, Nathan Gardner and Chris Heighnignton will provide the Sharks with something else as well.
Like last year, the Sharks are taking the Nines seriously, but it probably wont be enough to reach the next stage.
My prediction
The hardest group out of the lot to pick as all seem to be taking the 2015 Auckland Nines very seriously.
I’ll go with the Sydney Roosters as my first pick and then the Brisbane Broncos to finish second on the back of a barnstorming tournament from new recruit Anthony Milford.
Who are the hardest working big men in the NRL?
My American mate wants a Canberra Raiders jersey. If someone had told me a couple of months ago that I’d have friends in the…
Derbies are often rated on intensity rather than quality, and that was very much to the fore at Suncorp for the third Battle of…
The Panthers might have the bye this weekend, but that has not stopped them from suffering injury issues, with reports in the Sydney Morning…
Josh Schuster's days at Manly could be numbered after the big-money second-rower was granted permission to open negotiations with NRL rivals. Just 10 months…
Somebody call Mr Chow, there’s a fourth version of The Hangover playing out. All four teams who took part in the NRL’s Las Vegas…
