NRL Auckland Nines highlights: Eels triumphant in 2016 tournament

Tournament Results:

The Parramatta Eels have claimed the 2016 Auckland Nines, with a crushing 18 point victory over the New Zealand Warriors in the final, at a packed Eden Park.

REPORT: EELS WIN AUCKLAND NINES

In was a dominant performance from the Eels, who scored a bonus try in the first minute, and followed it up with another just a few minutes from the end of the game to take home the trophy, and the hefty winners cheque that comes with it.

Corey Norman had a heavy impact on the game, as he did all tournament and was named player of the tournament.

At halftime, the Eels were already leading 11 points to four and gradually ran away with the game. The Warriors were flat on attack, and weren’t much better at the defensive end.

Bevan French and Semir Radradra were the two highest try scorers throughout the tournament for the Eels, with French setting a new record-scoring eight tries over the weekend.

In the end a crushing win for the Eels.

Team of the tournament:

Tom Trbojevic
Corey Norman
Bevan French
Shaun Johnson
Tuimoala Lolohea
Aganatius Paasi
Tohu Harris
Chris McQueen
Semi Radradra

Full Tournament Results:

Round 1
– South Sydney Rabbitohs 14 defeat Sydney Roosters 13
– Melbourne Storm 14 defeat Parramatta Eels 4
– North Queensland Cowboys 28 defeat Newcastle Knights 12
– Penrith Panthers 23 defeat Wests Tigers 7
– New Zealand Warriors 34 defeat Canterbury Bulldogs 8
– Manly Sea Eagles 11 defeat Brisbane Broncos 8
– Canberra Raiders 28 defeat St George Illawarra Dragons 20
– Cronulla Sharks 23 defeat Gold Coast Titans 12

Round 2
– Parramatta Eels 14 defeat Sydney Roosters 11
– Melbourne Storm 18 defeat South Sydney Rabbitohs 12
– Newcastle Knights 15 defeat Penrith Panthers 14
– Wests Tigers 13 defeat North Queensland Cowboys 12
– Manly Sea Eagles 15 defeat New Zealand Warriors 12
– Canterbury Bulldogs 15 defeat Brisbane Broncos 13
– Cronulla Sharks 17 defeat St George Illawarra Dragons 8
– Gold Coast Titans 26 defeat Canberra Raiders 15

Round 3
– Sydney Roosters 26 defeat Melbourne Storm 7
– Parramatta Eels 24 defeat South Sydney Rabbitohs 11
– Newcastle Knights 21 defeat Wests Tigers 16
– North Queensland Cowboys 15 defeat Penrith Panthers 11
– Canterbury Bulldogs 14 defeat Manly Sea Eagles 8
– New Zealand Warriors 15 defeat Brisbane Broncos 8
– Gold Coast Titans 24 defeat St George Illawarra Dragons 12
– Canberra Raiders 18 defeat Cronulla Sharks 6

Quarter Finals
– Parramatta Eels 12 defeat Newcastle Knights 8
– Melbourne Storm 14 defeat North Queensland Cowboys 6
– New Zealand Warriors 16 defeat Canberra Raiders 8
– Gold Coast Titans 24 defeat Manly Sea Eagles 4

Semi Finals
– Parramatta Eels 17 defeat Melbourne Storm 8
– New Zealand Warriors 22 defeat Gold Coast Titans 4

Grand Final
– Parramatta Eels 22 defeat New Zealand Warriors 4

Finals Preview:

The 2016 Auckland Nines will conclude on Sunday afternoon at Eden Park in Auckland, with the final seven matches. After winning all their matches on day one, the Melbourne Storm, Manly Sea Eagles and Cronulla Sharks look to be the favourites. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 11:40am (AEDT).

Heading into day two’s action, it can be assured that the Melbourne Storm will be in the finals. However no other team has the same assurance. Joined in the Waiheke group by the South Sydney Rabbitohs, Sydney Roosters and Parramatta Eels, things have fallen into place perfectly for Melbourne.

Having won both of their games on day one against the Eels and Rabbitohs, and with two teams facing off in the morning, both sitting on one win a piece, while the Roosters have none, even a loss for the Storm sees them qualify.

None of the other group are as clear cut. The Storm will come up against one of the teams out of the Rangitoto Group in their quarter final. After day one, all of the North Queensland Cowboys, Penrith Panthers, Newcastle Knights and Wests Tigers have one win.

The Cowboys and Panthers both have +15 in for and against, while the Knights and Tigers have -15. That won’t even come into it though, as the Cowboys play the Panthers, and the Knights take on the Tigers during the morning session, meaning the two winners advance to the finals.

In the Hunua pool, as we look at the other side of the draw, only a bad loss for the Manly Sea Eagles when they take on the Canterbury Bulldogs would seem them fail to qualify. Unless the Bulldogs manage to win by 15 points or more, the New Zealand Warriors will join the Sea Eagles in qualifying for the finals.

In the Piha group, only a 10 point loss would see the Cronulla Sharks, who are in a similar position to the Sea Eagles fail to qualify for the finals. The Gold Coast Titans would also need a strong win over the St George Illawarra Dragons.

To sum it all up, only three teams are without a shot at qualifying for the finals after losing both games on day one – the Dragons, Broncos and Roosters, while the Melbourne Storm are the only team to have confirmed qualifying.

Prediction
The morning session should see the Storm, Rabbitohs, Cowboys, Knights, Sea Eagles, Warriors, Sharks and Titans qualify for the finals. Based on day one form it is hard to see anyone beating the Storm, but the Rabbitohs and Cowboys will both be strong contenders. Also watch for the Sharks and Warriors.

Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of the Auckland Nines finals from 11:40am (AEDT) and don’t forget to leave a comment in the section below as the action unfolds.

Follow Scott on Twitter @sk_pryde