FANS love it and the players want to play it.

But their coaches need it like a cattle prod to the nethers.

Gun Roosters recruit Luke Keary knows better than most why the Auckland Nines give NRL coaches the heebie jeebies.

He lost half his 2014 season after rupturing his pec in an innocuous tackle for Souths during the inaugural tournament.

But he’s still badgering new mentor Trent Robinson for a start at this year’s edition, a little over a week away.

“I’m not sure if I’ll get to go, I’ll be asking but,” Keary said.

“I played the first year and did my pec and haven’t been back since, I was out for a few months afterwards.

“But I really enjoyed that year. The game just frees you up a bit.

“You get to relax a bit after a long pre-season, throw the footy around and loosen up a bit.

Then Rabbitoh Luke Keary had his 2014 season put on ice after injury at the Nines. pic Mark Evans Source: News Limited

“It’s not like I’ve been scarred or anything like that, I’d love to play it again.”





Even with $2.4 million in prize money on offer a number of coaches are refusing to bite, with Wests Tigers, Manly and Penrith all leaving their biggest names in Sydney come February 4 and 5.

Hard to blame them when you consider this casualty ward from tournaments past.

2016

Jayden Hodges — ruptured ACL — season ending

Trent Barrett was spitting chips after his first outing as Sea Eagles coach, with Hodges’ season ending knee injury the tip of the iceberg for Manly.

Hodges did his ACL on day two last year, with luckless back-rower Jamie Buhrer floored by a broken jaw in his comeback from his own knee reconstruction a day earlier.

Within minutes of Buhrer’s injury against the Warriors, captain Jake Trbojevic was taken from the field on a medicab after copping the knee of Konrad Hurrell, while Nathan Green also suffered a concussion.

Trent Barrett came home with plenty of headaches from last year’s tournament. Source: News Corp Australia

It prompted this withering assessment from Barrett, who voiced what many of his coaching counterparts were thinking.

“It’s pretty obvious why we don’t bring all the guns,” Barrett said.

“It’s a massive risk. I left a lot of blokes out for genuine reasons — because they weren’t ready to play — and I’m bloody glad I didn’t bring them now.

“We might’ve had to play Brett Stewart for five games in a day and that would’ve been a disaster.”

Jamie Buhrer — broken jaw — eight weeks

Jake Trbojevic — concussion — cleared of serious injury

Cameron Munster — medial ligament (4 weeks)

This time last year Craig Bellamy was already sweating Billy Slater’s return from a shoulder reco.

Seeing Munster go down awkwardly in Melbourne’s quarterfinal win over the Cowboys would hardly have done wonders for Bellyache’s blood pressure, though his star fullback was eventually back on deck in time for round one.

2015

Kenny Edwards — ruptured ACL — season ending





Edwards’ 2015 campaign started and ended with a knee injury at the Nines. But his own personal hell was only just beginning.

The damaging back-rower brought plenty of it on himself when he was caught swapping a drug test with teammate Kaysa Pritchard (also injured in the same tournament) just as his recovery from surgery began in earnest.

Edwards was banned from Parramatta headquarters for three months as part of a nine-month punishment, and missed critical physio attention as a result.

He eventually got back on track and back on the park, but not before putting on 10 kilos and his knee deteriorated to the point where he could barely straighten it midway through 2015.

Kaysa Pritchard — torn pectoral — five months

Pritchard also copped a rotten run starting in Auckland, rupturing his pec in the very first game of the tournament when he attempted a tackle on Kieran Foran.

The young hooker then found himself in hot water over the out-of-competition urine sample he swapped with Edwards — reportedly sparked by concern over a sleeping pill Pritchard took that wasn’t prescribed by Eels medical staff.

Pritchard returned for Parramatta in a rare win over Melbourne, which was immediately soured by news he’d torn his other pec.

Nu Brown — ruptured ACL — season ending

Nu Brown suffered a season-ending knee injury at the 2015 tournament. pic Mark Evans Source: News Corp Australia

The Christchurch kid’s second NRL season was over before it even began when he copped his devastating knee injury.

After a bright start to his career in 2013, Cronulla’s acquisition of James Maloney and Chad Townsend, combined with Brown’s injury, have seen him play just three games in the last two years.

Like Keary though he’s not haunted by the Auckland season opener, putting his hand up for selection in 2016 before coach Shane Flanagan thought better of it.

2014

Luke Keary — torn pectoral — six months

Keary caught plenty of eyes in his 2013 rookie year but ended up on ice for the first half of the following season when he was winged on the second day of the first ever Nines event.

Fair play as Keary declares, “that year did work out alright though.” He returned for Souths and added another dimension to their attack, playing a key role in their drought breaking 2014 premiership.

Jarrod Mullen — hamstring — 10 weeks

Mullen’s hamstring woes — and the desperate lengths he’s gone to overcome them — have all but destroyed his career.

Last week the Knights star tested positive for anabolic steroids, but it was two years ago when Mullen first tore his hamstring off the bone at the Nines, with a four month recovery time looming at the time.

He eventually returned for Newcastle in round six, but his injury kicked off a disastrous 2014 season that saw the club go to hell and back on their way consecutive wooden spoons.

Lachlan Coote — ACL — season ending

Coote’s career was in genuine danger after he suffered the cruellest of injuries just seven minutes into his first run in Cowboys colours.

He had been signed by the club after a series of sideline stints saw Penrith let go one of their most promising juniors.

The fullback’s recovery saw him have to “pretty much learn how to walk again” before fighting his way back into North Queensland’s maiden title run.

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