This time last year Benji Marshall was in Auckland trying to ‘‘unlearn’’ rugby league with Super Rugby franshise the Auckland Blues. Twelve months on he will return to Eden Park as St George-Illawarra captain after being named to skipper the Dragons at the Auckland Nines.

It caps a remarkable rugby league return for the former Kiwi Test captain who joined the Dragons in mid 2014 after an ill-fated switch to rugby.

Marshall said returning to Auckland for his first Nines tournament as leader if the club that threw him a lifeline last year will be a humbling experience.

“It’s an honour to be captaining the Dragons and to do so while playing my first NRL Auckland Nines tournament is exciting,” said Marshall.

“To be recognised as a leader means a lot to me and I definitely didn’t expect it to happen.

“I’m looking forward to getting out there onto the field and contributing to the attacking plays as I missed out on experiencing the tournament last season. All the players have spoken about how quick the games are and the different tactics that need to be incorporated into the plays and I cannot wait to do my part for the team.”

Marshall will lead the club in the absence of regular skipper Ben Creagh who has been rested from both the Nines and the Dragons’ trial with the Mackay Cutters on the same weekend.

Coach Paul McGregor’s 19-man squad for the Nines features a number of the club’s stars including Josh Dugan and Jason Nightingale as well as young-guns Euan Aitken and Shannon Crook and former Fijian rugby sevens star Eto Nabuli.

Star five-eighth Gareth Widdop will remain in Australia after missing the bulk of the preseason following the Four Nations and will take part in the Dragons match with the Cutters in Mackay. He will partner young-gun Drew Hutchison in the halves while NRL regulars Trent Merrin, Leeson Ah Mau and Mitch Rein were named in a strong forward pack.

McGregor said the club’s coaching staff gave careful consideration to both squads little more than a month ahead of the NRL season opener.

‘‘Some guys who’d like to play the Nines will play in Mackay but we’ve made a decision in the best interests of the team and round one,’’ McGregor said.

‘‘[We considered] the needs of each player and where they’re at this part of the preseason.

‘‘If you’re a big forward or a middle you might need to go to Mackay and spend some tough minutes for longer periods of time on the field. For an outside back we’re looking at the ability to get combinations going so some will play in Mackay and some will play in the Nines.’’

Assistants Ben Hornby and Ian Millward will accompany McGregor in Auckland while forwards coach Dean Young will take charge of the squad in Mackay. 

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Dragons’ Nines squad: Euan Aitken, Mike Cooper, Shannon Crook, Josh Dugan, Tyson Frizell, Craig Garvey, Nathan Green, Yaw Kiti Glymin, Beau Henry, Dan Hunt, Benji Marshall (c), Peter Mata’utia, Will Matthews, Eto Nabuli, Jason Nightingale, Adam Quinlan, Joel Thompson, Shannon Wakeman.

Dragon’s Mackay trial squad: Matt Dufty (NYC), Charly Runciman, Dane Nielsen, Dylan Farrell, Tyrone Cranston (Illawarra Cutters), Gareth Widdop, Drew Hutchison, Leeson Ah Mau, Mitch Rein, Rory O’Brien, Jake Marketo, Adam Tuimavave-Gerrard, Trent Merrin, Kris Keating, Heath L’Estrange, George Rose, Rulon Nutira, Tekina Vailea (Illawarra Cutters), Nathan Smith (Illawarra Cutters), Geoff Daniela (Illawarra Cutters), Andrew McCarthy (Illawarra Cutters).