The First Dick Smith NRL Auckland Nines Tournament Takes Place This Weekend

The inaugural Dick Smith NRL Auckland Nines tournament, which is expected to be the biggest summer event in New Zealand, is taking place this weekend, 15 – 16 February. The excitement is amazing, especially after bookmakers’ adjustment of their odds induced by surprising team performance.

The world’s greatest Rugby League show will be broadcasted live in Auckland, starring for the first time all sixteen NRL clubs, which will split a prize pool of over AUD 2.25 million and make this weekend pretty exciting.

There will be 31 live games at Eden Park, which will offer fast action and a lot of winning possibilities for fans of bet on sports in New Zealand.

Bookmakers offer some surprising odds

The St George Illawarra Dragons team has pretty solid chances (from $15 to $10) according to the operators offering internet betting in New Zealand, as their selection of players for the tournament is worth seeing.

On the other hand, teams like the Wests Tigers ($17 out to $26), South Sydney Rabbitohs ($13 to $21) and Canberra Raiders ($31 to $41) are given less winning chances, as they preferred to leave some of their star players out and compete with less experienced squads.

The Warriors are on top of bookies list

At the same time the New Zealand Warriors are even stronger favorites for winning the tournament (from $5.50 to $4.50) compared to their odds before revealing the team lists. One of the main reasons for their predicted success is the offensive star half Shaun Johnson, who seems to fit perfectly the format of the fast paced competition with his excellent running and game creativity.

Other players who will add priceless value to Warriors’ attack are the fullback Sam Tomkins and Tongan backline wrecking ball Konrad Hurrell. They will guarantee a lot of winnings for players who take advantage of the attractive odds offered by online bookies, which follow all New Zealand gambling laws.

The chances of the participants from the first half of the table

Dick Smith NRL Auckland Nines tournament, the biggest summer event in New Zealand, will take place on 15-16 February

• All 16 NRL clubs will participate
• All 31 live games taking place at Eden Park will be broadcasted
• The New Zealand Warriors are given the highest chances to win by bookmakers

Newcastle Knights are firm on the second betting position at $8, after announcing their first-choice NRL halves – the Jarrod Mullen and Tyrone Roberts’ pair, as well as the backline players Dane Gagai, Akuila Uate and Joseph Leilua.

The Gold Coast Titans and Penrith Panthers are both third place favorites at $9. They slightly moved away from $8 and $8.50 respectively, after naming well-structured squads.

The Cronulla Sharks and St. George Illawarra follow closely at $10, after they publicized their teams’ lists full with NRL players like Andrew Fifita, Paul Gallen, Todd Carney, Josh Dugan, Trent Merrin and Brett Morris. So far, the Sharks are the second-most heavily supported team after the Warriors, followed by the Panthers.

The Brisbane Broncos closed from $13 to $11 after few players like Corey Parker, Ben Barba, Josh Hoffman, Matt Gillett and Sam Thaiday were named as part of the team for the tournament.

The Parramatta Eels drifted from $12 to $17 and are now the last of the first eight teams. This happened after Jarryd Hayne and Will Hopoate both got injured and Tim Mannah was left out to rest. Still, the team is the fourth most supported team according to the bookmakers.

The second half of the table

North Queensland Cowboys and Manly Sea Eagles share the same odds at $17, just like Parramatta Eels. The Cowboys left out the star Johnathan Thurston, but included four World Cup players – Antonio Winterstein, James Tamou, Tariq Sims and Rory Kostjasyn.

Manly also left out some major players like Steve Matai, Brett and Glenn Stewart, Kieran Foran Anthony Watmough and Jamie Lyon but included the 40 year old legend of the team Steve Menzies.

The South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Sydney Roosters are at the same level at $21. The Rabbitohs seems like they cut their chances off by leaving home the Burgess brothers, Greg Inglis, Issac Luke, Bryson Goodwin and Adam Reynolds, which could have make a great positive impact on the team’s performance.

Little surprisingly, the Roosters are at the same position according to the bookies, even after choosing not to include stars like Sonny Bill Williams, Michael Jennings, Boyd Cordner, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, James Maloney and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck.

The Wests Tigers and Melbourne Storm are both at $26, with the Tigers rapid drop, regardless of the presence of the impressive attack players Marika Koroibete, Robbie Farah and Curtis Sironen. The Storm team left out Billy Slater and Cooper Cronk, so their place is not surprising.

The last of the sixteen squads

The Canberra Raiders and Canterbury Bulldogs share the last place in the bookies forecasts at $41. Canberra left out plenty of good players like Shaun Fensom, Anthony Milford, Josh Papalii, Edrick Lee, Jack Wighton, Josh McCrone and Dave Shillington.

The Bulldogs, on the other hand, didn’t announce particular playmaker and also left out plenty of top players including Greg Eastwood, Josh Morris, Krisnan Inu, James Graham, Sam Kasiano, Aiden Tolman, Trent Hodkinson and Frank Pritchard.

List of the current teams’ odds offered by Sportsbet

$4.50 New Zealand Warriors
$8.00 Newcastle Knights
$9.00 Gold Coast Titans
$9.00 Penrith Panthers
$10 Cronulla Sharks
$10 St. George Illawarra
$11 Brisbane Broncos
$17 Parramatta Eels
$17 North Queensland Cowboys
$17 Manly Sea Eagles
$21 South Sydney Rabbitohs
$21 Sydney Roosters
$26 Wests Tigers
$26 Melbourne Storm
$41 Canberra Raiders
$41 Canterbury Bulldogs