Auckland Nines 2016: The NRL stars with a point to prove at this year’s tournament

OLYMPIC and Dally M medals be damned. So too Test and Origin stars. The 2016 season kicks off with the Nines — these are the big names gearing up for a make or break year.

Make or break seasons starting at the Nines

ONE gave up his Olympic dream to for a train and trial crack at an NRL contract.

Another has a Dally M medal but can’t command a regular starting spot at his club.

There’s an abundance of talent on show at this weekend’s Auckland Nines, and more than a few players turning out under the pump already.

Off field drama, contract negotiations, injury comebacks and fresh starts all contribute to an endless ream of storylines ready to play out in 2016.

As each of these tales unfolds, here’s but a few of the NRL stars with a point to prove at this weekend’s tournament.

Ben Barba — Sharks

A big name recruit to the Sharks this time last year, Ben Barba kicks off his 2016 campaign competing with James Maloney, Chad Townsend, Jack Bird and Valentine Holmes for a spot in either the halves or at the back for Cronulla.

It’s an equation that could well see the 2012 Dally M winner reprise the utility role he found some success with last year.

But with former club Brisbane believed to be paying less, if any, of Barba’s freight this season and the game’s new interchange rules dictating more will be expected of bench players than 10-15 minute cameos, the most crucial season of Barba’s up and down career starts this weekend.

Tony Williams — Bulldogs

At his blockbusting best Williams is the type of ballrunner that could make confetti of opposition defences with the space on offer in the shortened format.

Unfortunately T-Rex’s top gear has all but gone the same way as the dinosaurs ever since he inked a lucrative four-year deal to join the Bulldogs from Manly in 2012.

That contract expires at the end of this year and with rumours rife for 18 months that Williams is on the outer at Belmore, putting his best foot forward at the Nines can only help him when it comes to the negotiating table.

Shannon Walker — Titans

For the past four years the Titans tearaway had been preparing for a crack at the Rio Olympics with the Australian rugby sevens side.

But with the relentless travel taking him away from his young family one too many times, one of the fastest footballers seen in either code gets his first crack on the park at converting a pre-season train and trial bid into a genuine NRL contract.

Walker has returned from the Sevens circuit in supreme shape, and simply won’t be caught if he sees open space in Auckland. An eye-catching performance could deliver a return to the NRL for the first time since 2010 for the 27-year-old.

Jamie Buhrer, Brenton Lawrence, Feleti Mateo, Jayden Hodges — Manly

All four Manly men are off-contract. Rumours of each being forced out of the Northern Beaches have done the rugby league rounds in the past six months. And each has been named in Trent Barrett’s youthful Sea Eagles squad for this weekend’s hit out.

Buhrer and Lawrence in particular will have eyes aplenty upon them as they return from season ending ACL and back injuries respectively, while chatter linking Lawrence to the Roosters by the end of the year also refuses to go away.

Mateo and Hodges meanwhile are two of the few players to survive Manly’s clean-out last season after initially being shown the door, with Mateo’s heavily back ended contract in particular meaning a big 2016 season is needed from the talented backrower if he’s to stay in the maroon and white.

Cameron Munster — Melbourne

This time last week emerging Storm star Cameron Munster was expressing his gratitude after being named in Kevin Walters’ Emerging Maroons Origin camp.

But after breaking a midnight curfew Munster has now been black-listed from the Queensland setup for 12 months.

He’s since endured a week of headlines alleging everything from a Melbourne-QRL stoush over his punishment to a witch hunt among players looking for the snitch who brought the incident to light. A chance to put on the boots can’t come soon enough for the 21-year-old.

Shaun Kenny-Dowall — Roosters

Kenny-Dowall turned out for the Kiwis during their series loss to England last November, but this is his first appearance in this part of the world since throwing that intercept in the opening minutes of the Roosters preliminary final loss to Brisbane last year.

The star centre is also due to appear in court within three weeks to defend domestic related charges stemming from his relationship with ex-partner Jessica Peris, casting doubt over his immediate future in the game.

Joseph Tapine — Knights

Tapine hits the open market at the end of 2016, and has three year deals on the table from both current outfit Newcastle and Ricky Stuart’s Canberra.

The Raiders offer is said to be worth significantly more, but the 21-year-old has been reportedly told by new coach Nathan Brown he’ll be playing the year out of NSW Cup if he joins an opposition NRL outfit.

The RLPA has since indicated they’ll support Tapine should such a situation play out, all making for a less than ideal lead-in to the 2016 season for the developing forward.

Te Maire-Martin — Panthers

The Junior Kiwi five-eighth dubbed “the next Benji” has been turning heads since arriving at Penrith from the Wests Tigers, and gets a further chance to put pressure on incumbent veterans Jamie Soward and Peter Wallace in his first official run for the Panthers this weekend.

The 20-year-old also raised eyebrows with one of his first interviews at the foot of the mountains, praising the club’s professionalism and saying little for that of the Tigers, telling the Western Weekender in November “I don’t think the Tigers really liked me ... they always had their favourites.”

Martin will line up against his old side early on Saturday morning in the Rangitoto pool.

Cody Walker — Souths

After being stood down for a decent portion of 2015 on domestic assault charges Walker has been training the red and green house down at Redfern over the summer, putting himself forward for a long overdue NRL debut.

With reports emerging that the 25-year-old is already in talks with the club about extending his deal with Souths beyond the end of the season, a decent showing in Auckland could get those talks over the line.

Konrad Hurrell — Warriors

After another underwhelming season from the Warriors Hurrell was told at the end of 2015 that he was free to explore options elsewhere.

Built like a Kelvinator on wheels and near impossible to stop at his peak in the 13-man game, the prospect of Hurrell in full flight in the Nines is a downright scary one.

The 24-year-old has vowed to stay with the club and prove he’s worth their time after four years of rocks and diamonds, and there’s no better time to start than this weekend.

Originally published as Auckland Nines 2016: The NRL stars with a point to prove at this year’s tournament