Benji Marshall will make his debut for the Brisbane Broncos at the Auckland Nines.

Benji Marshall will make his Broncos debut at the Auckland Nines next week in what will be his first audition for a permanent spot in the Brisbane line-up.

Marshall is the latest big name to commit to the pre-season tournament, with fellow Kiwi superstar Shaun Johnson also confirmed as a certain starter for perennial favourites the Warriors. Cronulla will also send several premiership-winning stars including Jack Bird, Wade Graham and Luke Lewis.

Marshall's first priority will be to cement a spot in Wayne Bennett's best 17 for the NRL season opener against defending premiers Cronulla. While Marshall is only contracted for 2017, Ben Hunt's decision to link with St George Illawarra from 2018 could create a longer-term opportunity should the veteran playmaker impress at Red Hill.

While the Broncos won't officially name their Nines squad until Monday, Marshall has been included in the belief the abbreviated format is the perfect platform to showcase his skills and develop combinations with his new teammates.

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The Broncos have a trial against the Sharks at Redcliff at the same time as the Nines, but have opted to take the 31-year-old across the Tasman instead.

The former New Zealand international missed last year's Nines due to injury, but indicated he wanted to be part of this year's event during a recent interview with Broncos TV.

"I'll be on the plane for the Nines hopefully and get a start there and try and get some form on the board," Marshall said earlier this month. "It's not too far away now, I'm looking forward to it. Get me on the field."

Marshall, who has reportedly kept fit playing touch football in Sydney over the summer break, has previously captained the Dragons at the Nines and could come up against the Red V should his current and former club progress through the pools stage. The Broncos open their campaign against Storm, before taking on the Knights and the Tigers.

While some clubs are concerned about the risk of injuries, the prizemoney on offer - coupled with the need to provide at least one of their top-five contracted players - means there will be plenty of big names on show. Jarryd Hayne be part of the Gold Coast line-up, Johnathan Thurston is a confirmed starter and Luke Brooks will steer the Tigers from halfback.

Manly will take the opportunity to run their eye over some of their new buys including former Newcastle winger Akuila Uate, Curtis Sironen, Shaun Lane and Lloyd Perrett.

Ruben Wiki, who retired eight years ago, will make a surprise comeback for the Warriors at the age of 44.