There will be no excuses if teams don’t pick a star-studded squad for the 2016 Auckland Nines, NRL head of football Todd Greenberg says.
And it seems the Nines won’t be leaving New Zealand any time soon.
Greenberg had no problem with many teams not naming a strong line-up for the second annual tournament at Eden Park in the wake of the Four Nations.
However, he believed the stars would come out to shine in Auckland next year with no international tournament preceding the now recognised NRL season opener.
Player burnout has again become a hot topic after 10 rookies were named in the 24-strong Kangaroos’ ill-fated 2014 Four Nations campaign.
And few teams named impressive Nines line-ups, with Melbourne among the clubs to raise eyebrows after installing Queensland flyer Will Chambers in charge of a squad with an average age of 22.
Bulldogs coach Des Hasler didn’t even fly out after naming a bare bones squad headlined by Josh Morris.
Coaches could this year rely on injury or fatigue if they did not fulfil the Nines selection criteria that one out of their top five paid had to appear in Auckland as well as 12 from their top 25.
But Greenberg could not see teams pulling that card next year.
“We were conscious that there was a Four Nations tournament at the back end of last year,” Greenberg told AAP.
“But next year we won’t have that issue because there’s no international competition.
“Hopefully next year we get more of the big names here.”
However, Greenberg loved the idea that the Nines could unearth the next NRL superstar.
Cronulla’s Valentine Holmes put his hand up on Sunday after sending the Nines final against South Sydney into extra-time by landing a sideline drop goal conversion and locking up the scores.
Matt King – who came out of retirement for the Nines – finally sealed an 18-14 South Sydney victory with a golden try.
“In some ways I think it adds to the mystique of the tournament where you see a young player for the first time on the big stage,” Greenberg said.
The drama-charged final showed why investors were keen to tap overseas markets such as the US, Asia and the Middle East as potential future hosts.
However, Greenberg said the Nines were locked into Auckland until 2018 – and possibly beyond.
“I understand that people want to take it elsewhere,” he said.
“But we don’t take this for granted – I don’t think we should get ahead of ourselves.”
Meanwhile, Greenberg said they were taking burnout concerns seriously ahead of the NRL’s busiest pre-season yet.
“There’s no doubt we have to look at the workload,” he said.
“We don’t have that answer but we will look over the next 12 months to see if we can come up with models that help them.”
