The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Perth Nines side has been confirmed, alongside their opponents, the Parramatta Eels and the Cronulla Sharks.
The NRL Nines, formerly held in Auckland, has been missing from the rugby league calendar for the past two seasons, but will return this weekend at Perth’s HBF Park.
The Bulldogs have been drawn in pool two alongside the Eels, Sharks and St George Illawarra Dragons, but will only play the Brad Arthur and John Morris led teams in the round games.
Clint Gutherson will captain a strong Parramatta side that features Mitch Moses, Blake Ferguson, Junior Paulo and new recruit Ryan Matterson, while Wade Graham will lead a very experienced Cronulla side including Shaun Johnson, Josh Morris, Aaron Woods, Chad Townsend and Jesse Ramien.
The Dogs will play the Eels on Friday and the Sharks on Saturday before the finals are hosted in the afternoon on day two.
All 2020 NRL Nines games will be broadcast live across the two days on NRL Live Pass, Fox League and Kayo (Australia) and Sky NZ (New Zealand).
EELS TEAM:
Blake Ferguson, Brad Takairangi, Clint Gutherson (c), David Gower, George Jennings, Haze Dunster, Jaeman Salmon, Junior Paulo, Maika Sivo, Marata Niukore, Mitch Moses, Oregon Kaufusi, Ray Stone, Rhys Davies, Ryan Matterson, Shaun Lane, Stefano Utoikamanu, Will Smith.
SHARKS TEAM:
Wade Graham (c), Briton Nikora, Jack Williams, Aaron Woods, Blayke Brailey, Josh Morris, Jesse Ramien, Chad Townsend, Shaun Johnson, Ronaldo Mulitalo, William Kennedy, Sione Katoa, Connor Tracey, Billy Magoulias, Toby Rudolph, Scott Sorensen, Teig Wilton, Braydon Trindall
2020 NRL NINES POOLS
Pool 1: Panthers, Warriors, Roosters, Knights
Pool 2: Bulldogs, Dragons, Eels, Sharks
Pool 3: Raiders, Wests Tigers, Titans, Rabbitohs
Pool 4: Cowboys, Storm, Broncos, Sea Eagles
BULLDOGS GAMES: (AEDT)
Friday February 14: Bulldogs v Eels, 8.20pm (AEDT)
Saturday February 15: Bulldogs v Sharks, 3pm (AEDT)
Finals Begin Saturday February 15 @ 5.40pm (AEDT)
