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NRL Auckland Nines: Storm, Sea Eagles, Sharks unbeaten on Day 1

6th February, 2016
Kick-off: 10:30am (AEDT)
Venue: Eden Park
Champions 2015: South Sydney Rabbitohs
Betting: New Zealand Warriors $3.50
The Warriors head to North Queensland - which has been a happy hunting ground - to take on the Cowboys. (Photo: www.photosport.co.nz)
Roar Guru
6th February, 2016
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2566 Reads

Session results:

Only three teams remain unbeaten after Day 1 of the Auckland Nines – the Melbourne Storm, the Manly Sea Eagles, and the Cronulla Sharks.

REPORT: EAGLES, STORM SET PACE IN AUCKLAND

The Storm claimed wins over the Eels and the Rabbitohs in the first day while the Sea Eagles defeated the Broncos and the Warriors, and the Sharks bested the Titans and the Dragons.

The Roosters, Broncos and Dragons all have winless records after the first day will the other ten teams in the competition have a win and a loss each.

Final scores
Roosters def. by Eels 11-14
Rabbitohs def. by Storm 12-18
Knights def. Panthers 15-14
Cowboys def. by Tigers 12-13
Warriors def. by Sea Eagles 12-15
Bulldogs def. Broncos 15-13
Dragons def. by Sharks 8-17
Raiders def. by Titans 15-26

Session preview:

The Auckland Nines are underway. Join The Roar for a live blog of the afternoon session right here from 2:25pm AEDT.

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WANT TO LIVE STREAM THE AUCKLAND NINES? HERE’S HOW

You’ll see the following matches in this blog:

Sydney Roosters versus Parramatta Eels
South Sydney Rabbitohs versus Melbourne Storm
Newcastle Knights versus Penrith Panthers
North Queensland Cowboys versus Wests Tigers
New Zealand Warriors versus Manly Sea Eagles
Canterbury Bulldogs versus Brisbane Broncos
St George Illawarra Dragons versus Cronulla Sharks
Canberra Raiders versus Gold Coast Titans

Every side has played once so far this tournament, so this block of games should start sorting out which teams will be playing on Sunday evening and which won’t.

This will also be the perfect opportunity for each club to get some gametime into their youngsters, as fresh legs will prove vital as the tournament gets to the business end.

Predictions
Parramatta to beat Sydney: Semi Radradra should have a field day, and Luke Kelly could thrive under this situation. Don’t sleep on Braith Anasta leading the tri-colours to victory though.

South Sydney to beat Melbourne: South Sydney have sent over a very strong side, with Alex Johnston, Bryson Goodwin, John Sutton, and Tom Burgess among the NRL talent. They should have enough firepower to get over the top of an inexperienced Storm side.

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Penrith to beat Newcastle: The outside backs will determine this one, but I’ll take Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, Josh Mansour and Waqa Blake over Jake Mamo, Nathan Ross and Akuila Uate (Although, the Mata’utias may have something to say about that).

North Queensland to beat Wests: The Cowboys’ 1-7 reads like an NRL standard backline. This one could be a blowout.

New Zealand to beat Manly: The Warriors may just have the two best players in the tournament, as both Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Shaun Johnson should cause havoc no matter who they play against. Keep an eye on Tom Trbojevic though.

Brisbane to beat Canterbury: The Bulldogs haven’t sent any of their NRL backs over for this one, and that should see their demise.

Cronulla to beat St George: If there was ever a format made for Ben Barba, this is it. Jack Bird should also have some fun with so much space. Josh Dugan to be the best player for the Dragons.

Gold Coast to beat Canberra: The Titans just seem to have a bit more pace on their team than the Raiders, and pace goes a long way in this format. David Mead could have a big game.

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