"From a spectator's perspective I like the fact that everyone wants to win but at the same time you can have that licence to play ad-lib football and take a few risks," he said.
"It's an asset that the NRL has that they can take to market once the contract has finished with Auckland. But I'm sure Auckland, having proven they can do it and do it well, it would be a hard one to take off them."
Lockyer has some sympathy for the Warriors as host club, who have fallen short of winning the title the past two years, saying the pressure will be on them to deliver. "They [Warriors] don't necessarily need to be favourites but people have the expectation that if they're playing at home they'll perform really well."
Lockyer, who retired in 2011 after 17 glittering seasons in the NRL, regrets never having the chance to be involved in a nines tournament.
"I would have loved to have had a crack. I never even got to play sevens! It's a weekend away where you come away as a group to try and achieve success and the bonus is you get to form some friendships and relationships which will only help teams moving forward.
"Prize money is a big part of it too. In the NRL I think there's only three clubs that might be profitable, so every club will give it their best chance to go over there."
Feedback leads to price drop
Organisers of the 2016 Dick Smith NRL Auckland Nines have listened to the people and made changes to ensure next year's two-day event is the hottest ticket in town.
After this year's second edition of the Nines in February, promoters Duco Events canvassed the opinions of fans to learn what they liked about the Nines and what they thought could be improved.
Duco has responded by dropping ticket prices for the 2016 Nines, to be held at Eden Park on Waitangi weekend, February 6 and 7, with the cheapest two-day adult pass selling for $69.
Families are also being encouraged to attend, with half-price kids' tickets available in every category from bronze up.
"Fans told us they felt the prices had escalated perhaps a little too much, so we've levelled them back a little so the overall event is more affordable," said Duco events director David Higgins.
"Also, fans want separate tickets for each day, so you are buying the two days but you'll receive the Saturday ticket and the Sunday ticket, which is more convenient and flexible."
Other changes include more on-field entertainment, and improved beer selection, while all 16 NRL clubs will again be thrust out into the Auckland region in the lead-up to better engage with fans.
"The fans really liked the players warming up on the side of the No1 field in front of them rather than out the back on field two, so we've brought that back.
"The women's international series will again take place and, as in year one, we sent each of the NRL clubs out to a local club. It was very successful, thousands of fans and kids got to meet their heroes and that will be back again."
