The Panthers squad to contest the 2017 Auckland Nines boasts a mixture of youth, experience and exciting talent.

With many senior players unavailable for the tournament, a selection of locally-developed juniors have been given the opportunity to prove themselves against some of the biggest names in the game.

Dylan Edwards, Corey Waddell, Kaide Ellis, Tyrone May, Moses Leota, Christian Crichton, Oliver Clark and Corey Harawira-Naera were all members of the Panthers NYC squad which claimed the 2015 Holden Cup Premiership.

They will be joined in Auckland by Panthers NRL stars Nathan Cleary, Waqa Blake and Sitaleki Akauola, along with high-profile recruit James Tamou.

The side will be captained by Isaah Yeo, who established himself as a regular in the Panthers backrow and made his Country Origin debut last season.