2017 Auckland 9s - New Faces - Sydney Roosters

The Wests Tigers published their 9's squad first and the Sydney Roosters last - but neither team were rewarded or punished for their timing.

Both teams went for squads with a good mix of experience and youth but maybe the Roosters, with their delayed notice, were hoping that the spotlight would be kept off their young guns prior to arriving in NZ.  It's unlikely to succeed as anyone with access to the net will have done their research prior to kick-off on Saturday and discovered the gold nuggets in Red, White and Blue.

A few months into his 19th year, Bernard Lewis will start his third year with the Roosters NYC team.  Year two was a break out year for this Cairns Kangaroo junior who grew up hoping to emulate Cowboys favourite son, Mathew Bowen. With just 107 minutes on the field in 2015,  Lewis knew 2016 had to be better and it was. 23 matches and 1890 minutes gave him time to create strong links with his inside man Kiah Cooper. The work paid off with 19 tries for Lewis on the wing and 13 tries with 12 try assists for the guy inside. 

On the opposite wing Johnny Tuivasa-Sheck also had a big year playing 27 matches as another member of the Premiership winning Roosters Holden Cup team.  With speed and footwork, like his older brother at the Warriors, 2017 will be his first year in the senior squad and it kicks off with a trip home for the NZ born winger.    Although his winger team mate scored six more tries than Tuivasa-Sheck the more experienced winger carried the ball for over 3700 metres, almost 1200 more than Lewis.  Fans at Eden Park will rise off their seats when Tuivasa-Sheck or Lewis get the ball in hand.

Paul Momirovski is the last player to be introduced prior to the Auckland tournament. Paul played 17 matches in 2015 but only 8 in 2016 after being out injured for 19 weeks.  His return from injury came in time to bolster the Roosters as they headed into the finals series.  His maturity, leadership and combination with halfback Jesse Marschke were keys to the come from behind Grand Final victory.  Pre-season training with the first grade squad and a trip to Auckland are Roosters management's way of saying, hard work pays dividends, keep at it.