St George Illawarra Dragons forwards Tariq Sims and Jack de Belin have been named co-captains of the Dragons' Auckland Nines squad to play at Eden Park on February 4 and 5.
Sims and de Belin's promotions follow Australian Test representative Tyson Frizell's withdrawal from the Dragons' 18-man squad.
Having captained the Newcastle Knights at the Nines in 2016, Sims backed de Belin to star in his newfound role as Red V skipper.
"Obviously Jack's been a great servant of the club and he's going to be here for a long time," Sims said.
"So to share the role with such a quality player like himself is very special."
Auckland Nines Squad:
1. Patrick Herbert
2. Nene Macdonald
3. Euan Aitken
4. Levi Dodd
5. Kalifa Faifai Loa
7. Kurt Mann
8. Siliva Havili
9. Cameron McInnes
10. Luciano Leilua
11. Jacob Host
12. Joel Thompson
13. Jack de Belin (c)
14. Tariq Sims (c)
15. Taane Milne
16. Shaun Nona
17. Will Matthews
18. Matt Dufty
21. Jai Field
