Joke or genius?
The debate over whether retirees tarnish the Auckland Nines’ credibility is set to heat up again, with South Sydney’s Issac Luke calling for every NRL club to feature at least one former great in future.
And Brisbane legend Petero Civoniceva has tempered criticism of Ken Nagas and Matt King’s shock 2015 Nines’ appearances, saying this weekend’s Eden Park tournament is still about unearthing young talent rather than saluting veterans.
Organisers breathed easy when a 42-year-old Brad Fittler proved a hit for the Sydney Roosters in last year’s inaugural Nines, while Manly veteran Steve Menzies, 40, was again at his rock-solid best.
However, eyebrows have again been raised this year by Canberra’s selection of 41-year-old Raiders legend Nagas, 13 years after his retirement.
But after welcoming ex-Test flyer King back for a one-off Nines tilt with the Rabbitohs, Luke believed the concept should be embraced by every team.
Souths’ Nines captain Luke saw the move as a respectful nod to former greats rather than a slap in the face to the tournament.
“I think it is about expanding the Nines’ appeal and remembering who your legends are,” he told AAP.
“If they get to play one more game, let them play Nines.
“I think clubs should put at least one of their legends in their team in future.
“It would be good to see the old fellas in there.”
Luke even nominated who he would like to see – Kiwi legend Ruben Wiki.
“I thought Ruben was going to play for the Warriors this year – I will probably get in his ear to play next time,” he laughed.
But Luke will still get to see one hero run around this weekend – Nagas.
“I haven’t seen the big man run for a while. Hopefully, he still doesn’t have those same wheels or he will be running around everyone..
“It will be good to see him – my father was a massive fan back in the day.”
Civoniceva believed the NRL season opener at Eden Park still remained true to giving youngsters a chance.
“Mostly, it’s about having fun and kicking off our season,” he told AAP.
“But it’s also good for the young fellas in the squad – hopefully, we can unearth a few new stars over the weekend.”
Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy appears to have embraced that concept by naming a Will Chambers-captained squad of largely no names with an average age of 22.
Among them is 198cm, 112kg Junior Kiwi Nelson Asofa-Solomona who has already earned comparisons with Sonny Bill Williams.
Other youngsters tipped to impress are Jayden Nikorima (Brisbane), Tevita Pangai Jnr (Canberra) and Coen Hess (North Queensland).
Then there are the famous namesakes – Izzy’s younger brother John Folau at Parramatta and Michael Jennings’ sibling George at the Roosters.
