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It’s a new-look NRL pre-season as the NRL Auckland Nines signals the return of rugby league in 2014. Join us for live scores and commentary of semi-finals and final action from 3:45pm on Sunday, February 23.
Gone is the occasionally maligned NRL All Stars match (at least for this year), replaced with a two-day tournament featuring all 16 NRL teams, 256 players and a prize pool of 2.25 million dollars.
There will be four groups of four teams who will play each other in a round-robin style tournament, the top two from each group advancing to the quarter finals.
Each side will field nine players at a time, with nine minutes of football per half.
In addition to the reduced playing time and number of players, there are some other rule changes to keep an eye on.
The NRL Auckland Nines will introduce a ‘bonus zone’ with five-point tries being awarded in the in-goal area between the goal posts.
Additionally, games that are drawn at full-time will be decided with a ‘golden try’ period; goal kicks will not feature, instead replaced with dropkick conversions; and scrums will only take place in the event of double knock-ons or mutual infringements.
The lucrative prize pool has ensured a good mix of NRL stars will be on show, though some teams have named more experienced line-ups than others.
The Broncos, Knights, Sharks, Dragons and Warriors all look strong on paper, with most of their big-name players on board for the tournament.
Others such as the Storm, Sea Eagles and Roosters – normally NRL heavyweights – are missing key personnel, but will be looking to blood a few youngsters in time for the new season.
That said, a couple of legends will make their way out of retirement in the form of Brad Fittler (Roosters) and Steve Menzies (Sea Eagles), adding an extra element of interest to the proceedings.
With the home ground advantage and the likes of Shaun Johnson and Konrad Hurrell tipped to shine in this form of the game, the Warriors will enter as favourites.
In the end, though, this is the first time we’ve seen our favourite NRL stars competing in this format, and there will no doubt be plenty of surprise in store.
Who will take out the inaugural NRL Auckland Nines? Join us for live scores and commentary on Sunday afternoon from 3.45pm to catch all the semi-finals and final action, and be sure to let us know your thoughts if you’re following along.
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