Naitanui overcomes hardships and wrecked knee to reach milestone
If Nic Naitanui could change one thing about his 150th game for the West Coast Eagles on Saturday, it would be having his mum at the match.
Atetha Naitanui, who raised the Eagles star and his twin brother Mark as a single parent, passed away suddenly in 2015.
"That's probably the saddest part, not having my mum with me for my 150th," Naitanui said.
"She's been there through the whole journey and the hardships of what I faced early days.
"When you first come here, your main goal is to play a game.
"To see me get to 150, there's not a lot of us boys who got drafted in that one street to get to 150.
"I'm the first of the lot. I think she'll be really proud."
Naitanui grew up with former Carlton player Chris Yarran, Fremantle Dockers forward Michael Walters and former Docker Shane Yarran.
External Link: AFL tweet: Video of West Coast Eagles goal involving Nic Naitanui
He will become the 41st Eagle to reach 150 games and earn life membership with the club, and while he is honoured to be in that group, there is one perk he is looking forward to in particular.
"It's a great honour to be part of that little club at this football club, but also, you get two free tickets to every game as well from now on," he said.
"I'm pretty stoked with that as well."
Saturday's clash with Gold Coast will also mark the 200th AFL appearance for Eagles forward Mark LeCras, and Naitanui was keen to deflect some of the pre-match attention on to his teammate.
"200 is a big milestone," he said.
"It's good to see a guy like that play their 200th after some of the trials he's been through.
"I think the day will be more about LeCras then what is for me."
No easy path for high-flying big man
It has been a long road for 27-year-old Naitanui, who was taken with the second pick of the 2008 National Draft.
It was a draft which included Jack Watts, Stephen Hill and Daniel Rich, childhood friend Chris Yarran and midfield partner Luke Shuey.
Naitanui was given the number nine guernsey at the Eagles, the first player to wear the famous jumper after former club captain and Brownlow Medallist Ben Cousins, who was sacked in 2007.
After an injury-hit first pre-season with the club, during which he underwent minor knee surgery after experiencing soreness, Naitanui made his debut in round 12 against Richmond in 2009.
In just his second game, against reigning premiers Hawthorn, the then 19-year-old exploded onto the AFL stage, kicking three goals and winning 14 hit-outs to lead West Coast to a 20-point victory.
It marked the arrival of one the game's most exciting talents.
In 2012 he claimed his first All-Australia blazer, and by the midway point of 2014, Naitanui had played 100 AFL games — despite missing half of the 2013 season because of a groin injury.
Following the retirement of Dean Cox, the big man assumed the mantle of West Coast's number one ruckman, a burden that seemed to enhance his game.
Naitanui played 23 of a possible 25 games that season, gathering seven Brownlow Medal votes, apparently setting himself up for an even more explosive 2016.
A cruel run of injuries
But it was not to be.
The ruckman had surgery after round 12 to repair an ongoing Achilles injury and missed six games.
He returned against Fremantle in round 20, but two weeks later his career was hanging by a thread when he suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee after landing awkwardly in a marking contest against the Hawks.
What followed was intense interest in his footballing future. Would he return as the same imposing force in the ruck? Would he be able to run and jump like he could before? When would he play for the Eagles again?
Fast forward 18 months, and the man known as Nic Nat is back — and on the evidence of three AFL games, he appears to be at or around the mark.
It's what I get paid to do: Naitanui
Despite warnings from his surgeon that it would take some time for the Eagle to return to his best, Naitanui is already impressing.
His tackling is on par with his All-Australian season, and he is averaging more hit-outs per game than in 2015.
But the immediate return to form does not surprise the ruckman.
"I put in a lot of work behind closed doors. That's something I spend most of my time doing," he said.
"Tapping footies to the players or tapping into rubbish bins.
"I get paid to do that, and it's my job to hit the ball and have soft hands.
"It's like Josh Kennedy going out there and kicking his goals."
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