As it happened: NRL Nines, day one

The latest updates from the NRL Nines at Eden Park:

Warriors Day 1 results
Warriors 11 Sea Eagles 15
Warriors 0 Eels 17

7.20pm Shaun Johnson in doubt for Sunday Nines as Cowboys fly

Shaun Johnson has yet to play in this year's Auckland Nines - and it seems highly unlikely he will take the field at all.

Johnson sat out both of the Warriors losses on the first day, apparently due to a groin complaint which he aggravated on Saturday morning.

With the Warriors already out of the tournament - and with nothing to play for - it would be a surprise if he features in Sunday's dead rubber against the Dragons.

"He may play a part tomorrow," said Warriors Nines coach Steve MacNamara.

"He just has tightening in his groin area so the doctors and physios are looking after him.

He just felt it as we were warning up and we decided not to take the risk for the first game and [the Eels] game.

The doctors and the physios are working hard and hopefully we can get a positive result on that."

MacNamara insisted that Johnson was still a chance to take the field on Sunday, as the club are aware of his popularity among the wider sporting public.

"He is integral to promoting the game in and around New Zealand so if Shaun's available and fit then we'll give him that opportunity," said MacNamara. "But if he's not we'll have to make another strong decision. I imagine that will be made tomorrow.

Despite the Warriors earliest ever Nines exit, MacNamara was insisting there were some positives from an awful Saturday.

"The silver lining is that some young players have had some invaluable experience and had to learn some harsh lessons in this second game in particular," said MacNamara.

"We want a squad of players that are capable of playing NRL standard not just 17, 18 or 19 players but all players, to enable us to get through the season and this has been part of the process for us."

In the final matches of the day the Cowboys underlined their favouritism with a comprehensive 35-6 victory over the Raiders.

It was the biggest win of the first day, with young star Kalyn Ponga a standout.

The result guarantees the Cowboys a place in the quarter finals.

The final game in the Hunua pool saw the Roosters prevail 14-7 over the Rabbitohs.

6.30pm - Broncos through to quarter-finals

The Broncos have become the fifth team to book their spot in tomorrow's quarter-finals, maintaining their perfect record with a win over the Knights.

Both teams won their first game of the day but Brisbane proved far too strong for Newcastle, easing to a 21-8 victory to take control of the Rangitoto pool. The Broncos were initially thankful for some strong defence to keep the score at 4-4 at halftime, before a brace from Jordan Kahu helped his side charge in front the second spell.

The Knights, meanwhile, will tomorrow face a winner-take-all meeting with Melbourne after the Storm did enough to see off the Tigers and move their record to 1-1 for the day.

Brodie Croft scored twice in the first half to give his side an 8-0 halftime lead and, after having their advantage pegged back to 8-6, a long Cam Munster run saw the Storm score their third try to seal victory.

5.35pm - Warriors knocked out of Auckland Nines

The Warriors have limped out of the Auckland NRL Nines, with a 17-0 loss to the Eels on Saturday.

It's the Auckland club's earliest exit at the tournament, and the first time they have failed to make the knockout stages.

It was a poor display, eerily reminiscent of last year's one sided final between these two teams.

The Warriors never got a foothold in the match, making a ton of errors and allowing the Eels an uncomplicated victory.

The Auckland side made a nervous start. They came up with poor last tackle options in their first two sets, which was disappointing.

Even in the reduced format, basic league principles apply and the Warriors ignored them.

Handed the momentum, Bevan French opened the scoring for the Eels midway through the first half before a Honeti Tuha extended their lead.

Without the likes of Ryan Hoffman and Shaun Johnson (who was watching on from the grandstand, sitting beside Kieran Foran), the home side looked disorganized.

This was epitomised by the passage of play just before halftime, when the Warriors had successive penalties on the Parramatta line but were unable to engineer a break and seemed unaware of the clock ticking down.

It didn't get any better in the second half. The Warriors were rudderless, at one point going side to side on their own 30 metre line before throwing a forward pass.

A third Eels try through Semi Radradra in the fourth minute of the second half sealed their fate, as boos echoed around Eden Park.

Earlier Manly beat the Dragons 23-20 to seal their own passage to the quarter-finals.

The Dragons had their chances - and led 11-0 midway through the first half - but their young side couldn't stay with the pace and power of the Sea Eagles.

Manly arrived at this tournament as 50/1 outsiders but have surprised most pundits and will be a dangerous opponent in Sunday's knockout stages.

4.50pm Hayne and Titans fly through as Panthers also impress

The Panthers and Titans are the first teams through to the quarter finals of the Auckland Nines.

The Titans outclassed a lacklustre Bulldogs outfit 17-10 to progress to the last eight, while Penrith prevailed over the Sharks 16-14 in a thriller.

The Gold Coast are one of the favourites for the title and have impressed so far. They have made the most of their pace out wide and have been defensively sound.

Jarryd Hayne was barely involved in their victory over the Bulldogs, which was perhaps a measure of their confidence.

The Panthers look like one of the teams to beat at this early stage. Nathan Cleary has adapted one to the Nines format while new signing James Tamou has caused havoc with his running on the edges.

The Bulldogs were disappointing - but coach Des Hasler never takes this competition too seriously - while the Sharks never recovered from a first up thrashing by the Titans.

3.55pm - Kiwi Ferns thrashed by Australia

The Jillaroos have thrashed the Kiwi Ferns in the first of their three-match series at the NRL Auckland Nines, running out 20-4 winners this afternoon.

Taking the field in between the first and second rounds of the men's matches, Australia scored four tries to stamp their mark on the series ahead of two more meetings tomorrow afternoon.

Australia took a 12-0 lead to halftime after spending plenty of time in their own territory but seizing control through a pair of long-range tries.

With barely 30 second on the clock Kezie Apps took advantage of some soft defence inside halfway, showing enough pace to score the game's first try. And Australia doubled their lead in the fifth minute from even further out, as Chelsea Baker collected an intercept and raced 80 metres for her side's second.

Amber Kani put New Zealand on the board shortly after the break, spinning out of a tackle to score, but Baker once more proved elusive with ball in hand to put Australia firmly in charge. And the result was sealed right on fulltime when Allana Ferguson crossed to make it a comprehensive victory.

Earlier, the Raiders snatched a last-gasp win over the Rabbitohs to complete the first-round matches. Trailing 12-11 with time up on the clock, Scott Sorensen crossed to steal a 15-12 victory.

3.02pm - Thurston helps Cowboys to big win

North Queensland Cowboys star Johnathan Thurston has helped guide his side to a 27-15 victory in his first appearance at the NRL Auckland Nines.

The Kangaroos and Queensland playmaker set up a pair of four-pointers in the six-tries-to-three jaunt.

Rising Cowboys star Calyn Ponga got on the tryscorers sheet when he claimed an intercept to run almost half the length of the field to dot down.

Earlier, new signing Benji Marshall's Brisbane Broncos enjoyed a dominant 18-4 win over Melbourne Storm, but it wasn't all good times in his return to Eden Park.

The former Kiwis captain and one-time Blues rugby convert was unable to speak to media afterwards as he was rushed away to get stitches to a cut in his mouth.

Next up the Canberra Raiders meet the South Sydney Rabbitohs, before the Kiwi Ferns women's team take on the Australian Jillaroos.

2.15pm - Warriors star Shaun Johnson under injury cloud

Warriors star Shaun Johnson remains under an injury cloud and is unsure if he will be able to play through the remainder of the NRL Auckland Nines.

Johnson sat out the Warriors first-up 15-11 loss to Manly, remaining on the sidelines after suffering a hip complaint during the side's final team training yesterday.

The Warriors have a second game today against the Parramatta Eels and a final pool encounter against the Dragons tomorrow, but the Kiwis test halfback is no certainty to play.

"I don't know if I'd call it an injury," Johnson told Fox Sports.

"I was out there warming up but yesterday in our final session, it was a bit tight through my hip flexor.

"I'll be out there warmnig up for the second game and for our third game tomorrow. I really want to be out there, everyone knows how much I love this tournament.

"It's disappointing."

Johnson did not appear to be badly troubled by the problem as he stood with the Warriors interchange players and club staff and it looked initially as though he had been rested as a precautionary measure.

Meanwhile, the Newcastle Knights beat Wests Tigers 18-10, while the Broncos are locked in a tight encounter with Melbourne Storm.

1.22pm - Warriors fall to Sea Eagles

The Warriors have slipped at the first hurdle at the NRL Auckland Nines, going down 15-11 to Manly.

The home side went down three-tries-to-two in a seesawing contest after coming back to draw level at 4-4 at halftime.

Returning skipper Ruben Wiki had the crowd excited but star halfback Shaun Johnson was kept in cotton wool on the sidelines and did not take the field.

The Warriors had a chance to snatch victory in the last minute with young halfback Mason Lino going close to scoring only to lose the ball as he dived for the line.

The home town team stayed true to their reputation as the free-wheelers of Nines football, spreading it across the front of their own posts on their first possession to allow back-rower Ryan Hoffman to break away downfield.

That movement failed to pay dividends but the former club captain was again on hand to shut down a threatening attack from Manly and put the ball-carrier into touch.

But it was the Sea Eagles to score first with Dylan Walker crossing out wide after three minutes for the early lead.

The Warriors levelled things up just before the break with youngster Samuel Cook breaking the line to dash 40 metres into score their first try.

Manly struck first in the second-half with former Warriors wing Jonathan Wright punishing his old teammates with a diving one-handed put-down in the corner to make it 8-4.

The Warriors replied with versatile back Blake Ayshford slipping out of a tackle on halfway and streaking away to score a five-pointer under the bar.

The entertainment continued with Manly back-rower Curtis Sironen barging over from close range to help provide his side with a match-winning lead.

Manly 15 (Jonathan Wright, Curtis Sironen tries)

Warriors 11 (Samuel Cook, Blake Ayshford)

1.13pm - Warriors set for Sea Eagles

Crowd numbers at Eden Park have swelled in the lead-up to the Warriors first outing against Manly which kicks off shortly at 1.15pm.

There's sure to be a terrific atmosphere for that game with fans eager to see Warriors great Ruben Wiki turn back the clock and produce some thundering defensive shots and hard-running to get the side going forward.

The crowd gave the local side a welcome reception when they entered the stadium to warm-up on the side of the field during the Eels 32-11 win over the Dragons in the third game of the day.

Earlier, the second match saw the Penrith Panthers prevail 28-18 in a free-flowing entertaining contest against the Canterbury Bulldogs.

12.20pm - Hayne Playne takes flight

Jarryd Hayne's Gold Coast Titans got off to a winning start with a dominant 25-4 win over the Cronulla Sharks.

Hayne crossed for his first Nines try and the Titans third in a dominant first-half, when he leapt above a Sharks player to steal an awkward bouncing ball and plant it down out wide to make it 17-0.

The Sharks pegged one back but that was as close as they came to mounting a comeback.

"It was tough and lungs are going to be hurting," Hayne said.

"But I thought our rotation was really good, we defended really well and our attack was awesome - we didn't give the ball up too much.

"It's always fun getting out there. In the first game you are going to be a bit rusty and a bit stiff but I thought we did great. As a unit we were completing our sets, getting to our kick and that obviously hurt the Sharks."

Less than an hour before the game, the 'Hayne Playne' and former San Francisco 49er took time to stop for a quick chat and photo with the young son of Australian league great Andrew Johns.

11.36am - Perfect conditions for footy

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the fourth edition of the NRL Auckland Nines from Eden Park.

Auckland has turned on a great day with warm and sunny conditions greeting fans as they make their way into Eden Park ahead of the tournament's first match at midday, between last year's NRL grand final winners the Cronulla Sharks and Jarryd Hayne's Gold Coast Titans.

Warriors fans won't have to wait long to see their team - and returning captain Ruben Wiki - in action with the local side taking on Manly in the fourth game of the afternoon.

Plenty of interest surrounds the sixth game, with Benji Marshall making his first appearance in Broncos colours when they face a youthful Melbourne Storm team.

That clash is followed by Jonathan Thurston's first Nines outing with his North Queensland Cowboys taking on the Sydney Roosters.

Trans-tasman rivalry then begins halfway through the day's schedule, with New Zealand's Kiwi Ferns women's side taking on the Australian Jillaroos in the first of three tests, with two more following tomorrow.

The action will continue with each side playing a second match throughout the late afternoon.

It's sure to be a packed house when the Warriors run out to play the Parramatta Eels in a replay of last year's tournament decider at 5.10pm while the final game of the day between fierce rivals the Roosters and Rabbitohs kicks-off at 7pm.

Strap yourselves in for another terrific day of footy!

11am: Here we go again
By Michael Burgess

As much as the Warriors have tried avoid the pressure and hype heading into the NRL Nines, reality will bite at 1.15pm today.

When the Warriors take the field against Manly in their first game of the tournament, all the expectation and hope of a large hometown crowd will come flooding back.

On the same day that Guns N' Roses are in Auckland, there will also be an `Appetite for Destruction' around Eden Park, as more than 30,000 fans hope that the Nines trophy can finally be won by the Warriors.

Sure, everybody knows that performance in the festival tournament is basically irrelevant in the context of the NRL season. That was proven again last year, when the Warriors reached the final of the Nines then flopped badly at the start of their NRL campaign, losing four of their first six games.

But somehow, that all gets forgotten around this time every year, as Warriors' success in the Nines becomes paramount.

Their progress also tends to make or break the atmosphere at the event; in 2015 half the crowd left by mid-afternoon on the Sunday, as the Warriors exited at the quarter final stage whereas in 2014 and 2016 the carnival continued until early evening on the second day.

This weekend might also be the Warriors' penultimate chance to win the event on home soil, with Auckland's five year hosting deal expiring in 2018. The NRL have said all the right things about their great relationship with ATEED, and their respect for Duco's work in getting the event underway, but there is a suspicion that the deep pockets of the state governments across the Tasman might prevail.

And as much as the Warriors have tried to downplay their emphasis on the Nines this year, a strong performance will give some momentum heading into the 2017 season.1.