Mal Meninga picks Johnathan Thurston ahead of Allan Langer in best Maroons Nines team

MAROONS coach Mal Meninga has paid Johnathan Thurston the ultimate compliment _ naming him ahead of Allan Langer in his Queensland nine-a-side Dream Team.

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MAROONS coach Mal Meninga has paid Johnathan Thurston the ultimate compliment _ naming the Cowboys champion ahead of Allan Langer in his Queensland Origin nine-a-side Dream Team.

Meninga was asked on Fox Sports’ NRL 360 to nominate his finest Maroons Nines outfit to coincide with the official release of tickets today for the third instalment of the NRL Nines in Auckland this February.

The Maroons mastercoach was a key figure in the creation of the Auckland Nines, with organisers seeking Meninga’s input after he coached Australia in the inaugural Super League Nines in 1996.

Having steered Queensland to nine Origin titles in 10 years, Meninga knows what it takes to build a successful squad _ and his Maroons Nines team would take some stopping.

Allan Langer in action for Queensland in 1992.

Meninga’s most agonising choices were in the halves, where he opted for a Wally Lewis-Thurston starting alliance, relegating Broncos legends Langer and Darren Lockyer to the bench.

Maroons winger Dale Shearer held the record as Origin’s leading tryscorer for 16 years, but there was no room for ‘Rowdy’ in a team containing freakish backline trio Billy Slater, Greg Inglis and Steve Renouf.

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Of course, Meninga reserved a spot for Arthur Beetson, arguing the legendary Queensland prop, who died in 2011, would have relished the Nines format with his size and ball-handling ability.

“Big Arthur ... imagine him fit and under the training regimen of the players today, he would have been awesome,” Meninga said. “With his running skills and ball skills, he’d be very hard to tackle in Nines football.”

But the most intriguing selection was Meninga’s choice of Thurston over Langer, the pint-sized Broncos wizard who played 34 Origin games, many as Lewis’ right-hand man, between 1987-2002.

Greg Inglis makes Mal Meninga’s Nine team. Picture: Peter Wallis

“Johnno is there, but so is Locky and Alf,” he said. “They are all on a level playing field. I thought I’d put Johnno in with ‘The King’ (Lewis) there to start.”

Meninga finds room in his 15-man squad for current Maroons skipper Cameron Smith, but rated Lewis the standout candidate to captain the Queensland Nines outfit.

Gene Miles and Michael Hancock complete the backline, while Meninga opted for Gary Larson, Bob Lindner, Nate Myles and Steve Walters to provide the midfield grunt and workrate.

If only we could have marvelled at Meninga’s Maroons Dream Team for real at next year’s Nines.

“I like the Nines concept,” Meninga said. “I’ve played Sevens and I’ve coached Nines before ... with that open space you get to see the speed and skills of the platers but it’s also fair on defence.

“Rugby league has two parts of the game and it’s fair on the defensive workload. It’s an exciting concept and one that we can market around the world like the rugby world sevens.”

Meninga believes the 2016 Nines will be more than just a two-day carnival in Auckland. With the NRL to reduce interchanges from 10 to eight next season, Meninga says the tournament will give the code’s big boppers a chance to roadtest their durability.

“I would say there’s not one player in the NRL now who will become redundant next year because of the interchange being reduced,” Meninga said.

“That’s where the Nines is very good in proving the value of the big man _ even in the reduced game.

“You’ve got the same principles as in the 13-a-side game, you’ve still got to go forward before you can go laterally. You still need forwards and the Nines will be a further good preparation for the season with the reduced interchange coming in.”

The third edition of the NRL Nines will be held at Auckland’s Eden Park on the weekend of February 6-7. Tickets for both days start at $62 and can be purchased from nrl.com/tickets

MAL’S QUEENSLAND ORIGIN NINES TEAM

Arthur Beetson, Gary Larson, Gene Miles, Wally Lewis (c), Johnathan Thurston, Cameron Smith, Greg Inglis, Billy Slater, Steve Renouf. Reserves: Darren Lockyer, Michael Hancock, Bob Lindner, Nate Myles, Allan Langer, Steve Walters.

Originally published as Mal Meninga picks Johnathan Thurston ahead of Allan Langer in best Maroons Nines team