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Regional | Disability

First NRL nines game of its kind

Teams from Australia touched down in Auckland this week for the first trans-Tasman rugby league tournament of it's kind. This weekend Waitemata Seagull Club Rooms in West Auckland will play host to the Physical Disability Rugby League nines games.

Three teams from New South Wales - Manly Sea Eagles,  Sydney Rabbitohs and West Tigers - will go head to head in a two-day clash against New Zealand's Warriors team.

For many of the 60 athletes taking part, it's their first ever rugby league tournament as well as their first international event. Indigenous All Stars captain Allan Ross from Manly Sea Eagles says 'It's just the experience for the boys. Some of them have never been on a plane before so that was pretty cool for them.'

Thirteen-year-old Warriors player, Take Brooking is the youngest in the tournament. He says everyone here is equal.  'I love how everyone knows what everyone has been through so we relate to each other easier. I feel like we have a lot to prove. Just cause we're disabled, we can play just as well.'

The tournament begins on Friday 3 November and goes until Sunday 5 November.