St George Illawarra Dragons halfback Benji Marshall is honoured to have been named captain of the Club’s NRL Auckand Nine’s team to be held at Eden Park, Auckland at month’s end.
Dragons Head Coach Paul McGregor named a 18-man squad for the two-day tournament which will see Marshall skipper the Club for the first time.
The New Zealand Kiwis international, capped 27 times for his country, is excited to take part in his inaugural nine-a-side outing and feels humbled to be doing so leading the Dragons.
“It’s an honour to be captaining the Dragons and to do so while playing my first NRL Auckland Nines tournament is exciting,” said Marshall.
“To be recognised as a leader means a lot to me and I definitely didn’t expect it to happen.
“I’m looking forward to getting out there onto the field and contributing to the attacking plays as I missed out on experiencing the tournament last season.
“All the players have spoken about how quick the games are and the different tactics that need to be incorporated into the plays and I cannot wait to do my part for the team.
"The team have really started to gel together and this will be our first opportunity to come up against opposition to see where we are at.
"McGregor has named a very fast and dynamic team and there are several younger players who will be hoping to cause some headaches on the field."
