St George Illawarra Dragons representative winger Brett Morris has been named as captain of the Club’s Nine’s team for the inaugural Dick Smith NRL Auckland Nines in New Zealand this weekend.
Dragons Head Coach Steve Price has named a 16-man squad for the two-day tournament which will see Morris skipper the Club for the first time.
The Kiama Knights junior admits he is humbled by the honour to lead the Dragons and excited to take part in the nine-a-side concept.
“I am very proud to play for this club and it is a huge honour being named captain for the upcoming NRL Auckland Nines,” said Morris.
“The NRL Nines tournament itself is going to be very exciting and I think the fans are going to love it.
“There’s a whole different style of tactics required to play this type of game with a lot more open space available for players to attack and I can’t wait to get on to the field.”
Dragons Head Coach Steve Price believes Morris has shown great leadership qualities and deserves the opportunity to lead the squad in the absence of Club Captain Ben Creagh.
The Dragons have been drawn alongside the South Sydney Rabbitohs, Melbourne Storm and Penrith Panthers in their pool for Auckland Nines with Price fully aware of the talent and capabilities within these squads.
“I believe that this is a very competitive team we are putting forward to compete in the NRL Auckland Nines with a great mixture of youth and some more established players,” said Price.
“It will be a great experience for all the players named and I am sure they will do their best with the challenges expected playing in this new environment.
“Brett has been in our Club’s leadership group for several years now and deserves his chance to lead the team out as captain in the absence of Ben who did not travel with the team.
“Brett has the respect of all his teammates and this will be a great opportunity for him to go out and show just what type of player he is.”
“I am sure there will be a few surprise packets from all the teams with this format of competition and I am just as excited as the players and fans to see how everything unfolds”.
St George Illawarra Dragons Squad for Dick Smith Auckland Nines:
Josh Dugan, Brett Morris ©, Dylan Farrell, Nathan Green, Jason Nightingale, Adam Quinlan, Sam Williams, Jack de Belin, Mitch Rein, Tyson Frizell, Leeson Ah Mau, Joel Thompson, Trent Merrin, Bronson Harrison, Michael Witt, Craig Garvey.
Saturday, February 15 - Sunday, February 16
Location: Eden Park, Auckland
Match Details: Click through to see the Dragons draw for the NRL Auckland Nines!
Ticketing Details: Click through to Ticketek (NZ) for ticketing information or to purchase tickets now!
The Dragons final pre-season match will be the traditional Charity Shield Match which will be played at WIN Stadium, Wollongong on February 22.
Saturday, February 22
Location: WIN Stadium, Wollongong
Gates Open: 12.30pm
12.45pm – Illawarra Cutters v North Sydney Bears
2:45pm – NYC v South Sydney
5:00pm – NRL Charity Shield v South Sydney
Ticketing Information: Click through to Ticketek for ticketing information or to purchase tickets now!
