Shaun Johnson (c), Matthew Allwood, Nathan Friend, Ben Henry, Ryan Hoffman, Sebastine Ikahihifo, Solomone Kata, Ngani Laumape, Sam Lisone, Tuimoala Lolohea, Sione Lousi, Simon Mannering, Suaia Matagi, Ben Matulino, Ken Maumalo, Dominique Peyroux, Nathaniel Roache, Bodene Thompson, Sam Tomkins, Chad Townsend, Manu Vatuvei, Jonathan Wright

How excited are ya for the NRL Nines!?

Pretty excited as I'm starving for some rugby league and the Warriors have named a super squad of lads to try do the unthinkable and win something.

It's clear that the Warriors mean business, which is cool but I'm not sure why we need to have Simon Mannering, Nathan Friend and Ryan Hoffman take part. Surely they could just chill out and rest up for the season but one could safely assume that they kidnapped Andrew McFadden and forced him to name them. That's good enough for me, it would be rather disgusting if they didn't want to play.

It's a great chance to see the new recruits in action with Hoffman joined by Mathew Allwood, Bodene Thompson and Jonathan Wright. It's handy that the Nines kind of suits all these guys and their skillsets so we'll a great chance to see what they can offer. I've seen a fair bit of all of them except Allwood so that's where my gaze will be cast.

It will also be cast rather heavily on Solomone Kata. This guy is a beast and I can't wait for the NRL to be exposed to his power. Many people will look at Tuimoala Lolohea as a young lad to watch and he'll definitely light up the Nines, but Kata is just as exciting.

We also get a chance to see Ken Maumalolo and Nathaniel Roache level up. They might not play too much but keep an eye on what they can do, with Maumalolo an outside back and Roache likely to slip in to a play making role.

Play making, tick. Shaun Johnson, Chad Townsend and Sam Tomkins have all been named soooooooo good luck. And with Friend, Roache and Kata named, there's many options at dummy half. Yup, last season Kata featured heavily at dummy half which may have just been a Mathew Elliot thing but he could do it again.

Don't expect Manu Vatuvei to sit out by the sideline.

There's a few big boys in the squad with Ben Matulino, Suaia Matagi, Sione Lousi and Sam Lisone all named. Don't expect too many big boppers on the field at the same time though as there's plenty of power with more mobility throughout the squad. It is a great chance to see what Lisone can do though.

It's a pretty strong squad, strong enough to win the tournament and I wouldn't mind putting a buck on the Warriors naming the strongest squad. They have all the bases covered in terms of muscle, power, play making, speed and slipperyness. Pretty exciting.