I can see a lot of injuries in this comp. Players have been off on post season holidays, likely doing very little training and are going to be expected to play 9's. I hope I'm wrong but there could be carnage to many hamstrings.
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I can see a lot of injuries in this comp. Players have been off on post season holidays, likely doing very little training and are going to be expected to play 9's. I hope I'm wrong but there could be carnage to many hamstrings.
I don't think there ended up being many injuries did there?
Congratulations Australia. Just shaking my head over the eligibility farce that engulfed Lebanon. Also the issues with the Tongan governing league... Ah... rugby league....
Jillaroos lose first game since 2017 as Kiwi Ferns win women’s World Nines final
https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/wor...f8a1f28cf663ae
‘The upset of any World Cup’: Poms stunned by minnows Lebanon in Nines shocker
https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl...3f0ff8df8ebcfb
Shocked about the crowd. Bloody hell Sydney.
I can probably understand the Friday night crowd, which was probably penciled in due to the TV networks. It should have been a Saturday/Sunday affair.Quote:
Just 12,528 people turned up on the Friday night, while Saturday’s crowd of 15,684 was slightly underwhelming given Bankwest Stadium’s capacity is 30,000.
It's a series that might need a bit of tweaking, but otherwise, it played out well. Gets the :thumbsup: for mine.
Waqa Blake shoulder injuryQuote:
Originally Posted by DIEHARD
Nathan Brown ankle sprain
UCL tear David Nofoluma (hyper extended his elbow)
Flash back: Gordon pushes retirement back to star at Nines
Gold Coast Titans
Former Titans fullback Michael Gordon has put his rugby league retirement on hold, returning to the Gold Coast's playing ranks for a one-off cameo at the NRL Nines at Perth's HBF Park on February 14-15.
Gordon retired at the end of the 2019 season after 261 NRL games, including 36 for the Titans in two years on the Gold Coast.
The 36-year-old made his NRL debut with Penrith in 2006, before stints at Cronulla, Parramatta and the Roosters.
After - temporarily - hanging up his boots at the end of the season, Gordon joined the Titans' football staff as a specialist coach working with the Club's outside backs, under Head Coach Justin Holbrook.
Gordon said while he is excited about pulling on the Titans jersey again, he was most looking forward to seeing the squad perform after an excellent pre-season of work under new Head Coach Justin Holbrook and assistants Jim Dymock and Jim Lenihan.
"I am really excited by that. They have been training their backsides off, and obviously there is a new coach and new staff, and there is a new buzz around the joint," Gordon said.
"I am very interested to see how the boys shape up because they are looking really good, but you never know until you get out there into the game.
"It was me and JD (Jim Dymock) that tossed a coin (to play in the Nines). I said ‘Mate, I'm a bit younger, a bit fresher, so I will take one for the coaching staff'.
"Obviously I am pretty excited. Nines was always a great competition, and it has been a few years since it has been on, so it is good to be a part of it."
Gordon joked his role in the Titans' game plan would be "team motivator", but he said he was determined to play a role for the Gold Coast without getting in the way of some of the Club's rising stars.
"You see every team takes over a mix of young blokes and some experienced players," Gordon said. "It is usually the unknown players that end up standing out in the competition.
"It is always good to give young blokes an opportunity, and to see what they have done. They have been training hard, let them go out and play.
"There are only two games in a pool this year, so it will be slightly different. I suppose it will depend how those two games turn out, because we are taking a decent squad over there and I don't want to get in the way of any of the young boys having a crack.
"We will see how the two days pan out, and we will go from there."
Gordon said he had made an easy transition into retirement by keeping a hand in football with his role on Holbrook's staff, and had kept up his fitness in order to keep his promise to his junior club, the Tweed Coast Raiders, for a farewell season in lime green after his NRL days were over.
"I just have to work on my speed work a little bit," he said. "I have been training with the staff every morning, and they are keeping me in shape.
"It has been pretty easy for me. I am just helping out the two Jimmys and Justin obviously.
"We have some great new staff in all areas. It has been exciting. It sort of makes me miss (playing) watching how well they have been training and the level of detail that Justin has brought.
"It has been really exciting to watch them train and grab all the new knowledge with both hands.
"They are looking really good, and I am just excited to see them play."
Ash Taylor ready to reignite career — starting with the Perth Nines
https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/
The NRL Nines helped spark the NRL careers of Semi Radradra and Connor Watson – and in 2020, Gold Coast Titans’ Ash Taylor can seize the chance to fulfil his potential.
It’s the tournament that sparked the NRL careers of Semi Radradra and Connor Watson.
Now it’s the Gold Coast Titans’ million-dollar man Ash Taylor’s chance.
The NRL Nines will act as the launch pad for Taylor to reignite his first grade career after needing to take time out for “personal reasons” in 2019.
Once tipped by experts to develop into one of the best players in the game, Taylor’s career has flatlined with fears last year that he may never play NRL again.
But in an indication of how willing the 24-year-old is to make-up for lost time, Taylor has been declared a certain starter by the Titans for the inaugural Perth Nines on February 14-15.
The Sunday Telegraph has obtained a first look at which players all 16 NRL clubs will be sending to Western Australia for the return of the nine-a-side try-fest.
It will be every footy fan’s first taste of NRL for the new season.
The NRL Nines are back after a three-year hiatus, with bragging rights and $1 million in prizemoney up for grabs.
In 2014, little-known Radradra was the leading tryscorer of the NRL Auckland Nines for Parramatta before then being named Dally M winger of the year.
Watson was named the 2017 Nines player of the tournament — leading Roosters coach Trent Robinson to declare the utility would play a key role the next season.
And already there’s a sense of which clubs are taking this year’s version seriously.
The NRL have been notified by Melbourne that Test star Cameron Munster will feature.
Additionally, Cronulla’s Shaun Johnson, the Broncos Anthony Milford, the Eels Mitch Moses, Panthers wrecking ball Viliame Kikau and the Tigers Moses Mbye are also confirmed starters.
However, there will be some notable omissions, with North Queensland set to hold back Valentine Holmes after a year out of rugby league.
Josh Addo-Carr and Kalyn Ponga are set to skip the Nines with a focus on the NRL All Stars tournament set for the next weekend.
The Rabbitohs’ high-profile recruit Latrell Mitchell is also set to watch the Nines from afar while, interestingly, Roosters assistant coach Matt King will be in charge of the premiers with Trent Robinson opting to focus on the club’s World Club Challenge tilt in the UK on February 23.
There is a strong sense within clubland that a promising Nines performance will set their side up for a strong 2020 season.
What Taylor shows at the Nines will be important for a Titans side that many believe will struggle in 2020.
The Perth Nines will be held at the 20,000-seat HBF Park, with the NRL confident of strong ticket sales in the countdown to the tournament.
NINES’ FIRST LOOK
Tigers: Moses Mbye
Titans: Ash Taylor
Knights: Kurt Mann
Melbourne: Cameron Munster
Raiders: Elliott Whitehead
Dragons: Ben Hunt
Panthers: Viliame Kikau
Sharks: Shaun Johnson
Broncos: Anthony Milford
Sea Eagles: Reuben Garrick
Cowboys: Coen Hess
Rabbitohs: Adam Reynolds
Bulldogs: Josh Jackson
Roosters: Nick Davis