Aquis Gold Coast Titans head coach Neil Henry is confident he will field a strong squad for the Auckland Nines and hopefully progress to the quarter-finals in the third annual tournament on February 8-9.
The draw was released in Auckland today by Kiwi supermodel Kylie Bax and the Titans have drawn St George Illawarra, Canberra, Newcastle and Penrith in our pool.
“It’s always a great weekend and the New Zealanders really embrace the tournament and we certainly want to be as competitive as we can,” Henry said.
“I think we can field a strong squad with a lot of pace and youth in our team from maybe the quickest player in the game in James Roberts [pictured at the 2015 Nines] some of our young players.”
The full draw is below but the Titans’ 18-man squad has avoided the home side, NZ Warriors who are strengthened by the recruitment of Kiwi Test players Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Isaac Luke, and potential heavyweights North Queensland and Brisbane.
The other Queensland teams have drawn what has been referred to as the “pool of death” which includes Manly and Canterbury.
Queensland State of Origin coach Mal Meninga, who also attended the draw, pointed out that the last two NRL Nines champions – South Sydney Rabbitohs and North Queensland Cowboys – had also claimed an NRL premiership over the last two years.
“Early success is important in the NRL and because the Nines is such a team-orientated event it can build confidence in the players and a culture of success for the season ahead,” he said.
“The beauty of our competition is that most teams can win on their day and the Nines is no different.”
THE POOLS:
Pool Hunua
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Manly Sea Eagles
NZ Warriors
Brisbane Broncos
Pool Waiheke
Sydney Roosters
South Sydney Rabbitohs
Parramatta Eels
Melbourne Storm
Pool Rangitoto
Newcastle Knights
North Queensland Cowboys
Penrith Panthers
Wests Tigers
Pool Piha
St George Illawarra Dragons
Canberra Raiders
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Gold Coast Titans
Past champions:
2014: North Queensland Cowboys beat Brisbane Broncos 16-7
2015: South Sydney Rabbitohs beat Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 18-14
THE DRAW:
Day 1 |
Time |
Team 1 |
Team 2 |
Game 1 |
12:30pm |
Roosters |
Rabbitohs |
Game 2 |
12:55pm |
Eels |
Storm |
Game 3 |
1:20pm |
Knights |
Cowboys |
Game 4 |
1:45pm |
Panthers |
Tigers |
Game 5 |
2:20pm |
Warriors |
Bulldogs |
Game 6 |
2:45pm |
Sea Eagles |
Broncos |
Game 7 |
3:10pm |
Dragons |
Raiders |
Game 8 |
3:35pm |
Sharks |
Titans |
W1 |
NZ |
Australia |
|
Game 9 |
4:25pm |
Roosters |
Eels |
Game 10 |
4:50pm |
Rabbitohs |
Storm |
Game 11 |
5:15pm |
Knights |
Panthers |
Game 12 |
5:40pm |
Cowboys |
Tigers |
Game 13 |
6:15pm |
Warriors |
Sea Eagles |
Game 14 |
6:40pm |
Bulldogs |
Broncos |
Game 15 |
7:05pm |
Dragons |
Sharks |
Game 16 |
7:30pm |
Raiders |
Titans |
Day 2 |
Time |
Team 1 |
Team 2 |
Game 17 |
10:35am |
Roosters |
Storm |
Game 18 |
11:00am |
Rabbitohs |
Eels |
Game 19 |
11:25am |
Knights |
Tigers |
Game 20 |
11:50am |
Cowboys |
Panthers |
Game 21 |
12:15pm |
Bulldogs |
Sea Eagles |
Game 22 |
12:40pm |
Warriors |
Broncos |
Game 23 |
1:05pm |
Dragons |
Titans |
Game 24 |
1:30pm |
Raiders |
Sharks |
Game 25 |
1:55pm |
Quarter Final 1 |
|
Game 26 |
2:20pm |
Quarter Final 2 |
|
Game 27 |
3:05pm |
Quarter Final 3 |
|
Game 28 |
3:30pm |
Quarter Final 4 |
|
W2 |
NZ |
Australia |
|
Game 29 |
4:40pm |
Winner QF1 |
Winner QF2 |
Game 30 |
5:05pm |
Winner QF3 |
Winner QF4 |
W3 |
NZ |
Australia |
|
Game 31 |
6:40pm |
Tournament Final |
|
