When you've played as long as Robbie Farah, change is bound to occur but the hooker admits it will still feel strange when he looks up from dummy-half.

Australian rugby league players have been pouring into Auckland before tomorrow's kickoff of the first NRL Nines tournament at Eden Park.

Shaun Johnson once played for a touch team called Kryptonite.

Auckland league fans have a chance to meet their heroes at league clubs across the city today, with all 16 NRL clubs being hosted by a local counterpart.

Injured Vodafone Warriors players swapped rugby league for acting yesterday as they delivered an anti-bullying message.

Some Auckland residents are concerned that more than 90,000 possibly alcohol-fuelled fans could converge on Eden Park for the NRL Nines this weekend.

For someone who has only ever been contracted to two clubs, it will seem strange for Sam Tomkins not to be playing when they meet in Hamilton tonight.

The Gold Coast Titans spent their day off whizzing around Waitemata Harbour yesterday.

The full line-ups for the Auckland Nines will be revealed today, with a host of superstar names.

All Sisa Waqa really wanted to do when growing up was play sevens for Fiji.

Nines organisers and Eden Park management are confident there will be no recurrence of a ticketing glitch.

Eden Park's management are confident they will find the right balance between maintaining order and allowing fans to have fun.

Police are expecting a "huge" weekend as thousands of people flock to various events around Auckland, with crowds expected to be the biggest since the Rugby World Cup.

They might not be the players that immediately spring to mind when trying to predict who will be suited to league nines but it would be dangerous to disregard props.

Rugby league super coach Wayne Bennett has dismissed concerns about player behaviour at this weekend's inaugural NRL Auckland Nines.

The NRL's confidential security and risk management plan for the inaugural Auckland Nines warns that players could be lured into fixing matches and taking illicit substances.

Dean Lonergan and business partner David Higgins know what it is to stare in the face of bankruptcy. But next weekend, they will kick off their biggest event yet, the $7.5 million NRL Auckland Nines.

A group of former NRL old boys, including Steve Price and Andrew Ryan, could be used as "peacemakers" in the event of any off-field incidents.

Sonny Bill Williams and Kieran Foran have been identified internally as two of several Kiwis players under investigation.

Shaun Johnson thinks the Warriors can win the NRL premiership - and that is why he has signed a new four-year contract with the Auckland team.

Rugby league officials are spending $100,000 on bodyguards who will accompany NRL players during next weekend's Auckland Nines tournament.

Knee surgery, a late start to pre-season and the possibility of playing no trial games before round one of the NRL. It doesn't sound like the ideal scenario for Melbourne Storm fullback Billy Slater.

Blake Ferguson's lawyer has lashed out at the NRL for launching the young star into an alcohol-soaked celebrity bubble and abandoning him when he faltered.

The Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (Asada) has hired former Federal Court judge Garry Downes to help wrap up its investigations into the AFL and NRL.