Shaun Johnson, Johnathan Thurston and Jarryd Hayne are expected to turn out at Eden Park next weekend, with a crowd of about 30,000 predicted for the event. Six of the Sharks' premiership side will also make the trip, and Benji Marshall will debut for the Broncos.
But with the World Cup bookending this season, concerns centre on how many stars will be available for the fifth and final year of the contract, which has been backed by $12 million investment from Auckland Council's ATEED.
The World Cup doesn't finish until December 2 and with some senior players instructed to take up to seven weeks off under mandatory stand-down rules – a new collective bargaining agreement this year may increase the rest period – access to superstars could prove hard in 2018.
While the NRL appears keen to retain the Nines concept, doubt remains over how next year's tournament will be run, and whether Australia will make a play to pinch hosting rights after 2018.
"Ultimately it's going to be an NRL decision," Duco Events and Nines promoter Dean Lonergan said. "While we come up with the concept, they're the ones that agreed to do it in partnership with us. We'll sit down after this year and see exactly what happens.
"There's obviously some issues next year around player availability due to the rugby league World Cup. At the end of the day, the success and failure of this is how many stars you get in the middle of that field. You can't run it without the stars."
In its three years the Nines has featured 44 NZ internationals, 43 Kangaroos and 45 State of Origin representatives. Next year, those drawcards and the pulling power of the event are in danger of falling.
"The NRL has a lot of stuff to work through with the players' association, us and ATEED and to make sure we put together something that works," Lonergan said. "They are committed to the Nines for a long period of time. They like it as a season opener. All of the clubs get a cash injection [contesting $2.25 million in prizemoney] at a time when they normally lose money on pre-season games."
The tournament was close to a sellout in 2014, with 44,500 attending each day, but dropped to 40,680 the following year. About 35,000 turned up last year and 25,000 tickets were sold as of Friday.
That follows a familiar trend with similar events. The Wellington Sevens, once the hottest ticket in town, now struggles to attract punters after a clampdown on drinking.
"We're happy with where it's at," Lonergan said. "One thing that would've made a massive difference this year would have been the Warriors making the top eight because it builds expectation. New Zealand is a one-team football town, so considering the Warriors lost their way at the back end of the season I'm happy. Had the Warriors made the finals we would probably have sold another 10,000 tickets and be sold out."
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...-auckland-nines-showcase-20170128-gu0mp7.html
