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Nicholas "Nic" Naitanui (; born 4 May 1990) is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League (AFL). Born in Sydney to Fijian parents, his family moved to Perth, Western Australia, after his father's death. Growing up in Midvale, Naitanui attended Governor Stirling Senior High School, and played football for the Midvale Junior Football Club. After representing Western Australia in the 2007 and 2008 AFL Under 18 Championships, he debuted in 2008 for the Swan Districts Football Club in the West Australian Football League (WAFL). Naitanui was drafted by West Coast with the second pick in the 2008 National Draft. Naitanui made his AFL debut for West Coast in round 12 of the 2009 season, against . He played ten games in his debut season, and received one Brownlow Medal vote for a three-goal game against . In his second season, Naitanui played every game, primarily as a back-up ruckman to Dean Cox, taking over the position of Mark Seaby, who was traded the previous season. Having started the season as the favourite for the AFL Rising Star, Naitanui finished 5th overall. In the 2011 season, he played 23 games, including his first finals matches, and was also nominated for Mark of the Year. He was named in the All-Australian team the following season, as the first-choice ruckman. ==Early life== Along with his twin brother, Mark, Naitanui was born to Bola and Atetha Naitanui on 4 May 1990 in Penrith, New South Wales. His parents, originally from Suvavou, a small village near Suva, had emigrated to Australia from Fiji the previous year, with his two elder siblings, Georgie and Laisani, remaining in Fiji. His father died from cancer the year after Naitanui and his brother were born.〔(Eagles pick up Naitanui ) Fiji Times Sunday, 30 November 2008〕 After his father's death, his mother moved the family to Perth, Western Australia, where her brother lived. His mother began working at Homeswest, a public housing authority, and also volunteered at a homeless shelter. Naitanui grew up in Midvale, near Midland, and attended Midvale Primary School. He took up playing football at the age of nine, when he began playing for the Midvale Junior Football Club. As a child, he lived on Bushby Street in Midvale, along with Michael Walters and Chris Yarran, who would both go on to play AFL football, for and , respectively.〔Quayle, Emma (2008). (A street named desire ) – ''The Age'' online. Published 22 November 2008. Retrievewd 18 February 2012.〕 Two further future AFL players, David Ellard and Jeff Garlett (both Carlton), also played with Naitanui, Walters and Yarran at the Midvale Junior Football Club.〔Butler, Steve (2010). (How Buddy inspired Blues sharpshooter Garlett ) – ''The West Australian'' online. Published 11 August 2010. Retrieved 18 February 2012.〕 Naitanui attended Governor Stirling Senior High School and played football there, as well as for his club, the Swan Districts Colts (underage) side in the West Australian Football League (WAFL). During his time in junior and colts football, he played predominantly in the ruck, however he also was used on the wing or at full-back.〔 Naitanui also excelled at basketball and track and field events, particularly high jump, and was asked by recruiters to trial with American universities, but declined to do so.〔Browne, Ashley (2012). (Nic's knack ) – Australian Football League. Published 13 March 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2012.〕 In the 2007 Under-18 AFL National Championships, Naitanui was dominant in the ruck for Western Australia, and was named Best On Ground in the final. Following his performance, he was hotly pursued by several AFL clubs. However, he was born just a few days too late to qualify for the 2007 AFL draft.〔Timms, Daryl; (No.1 draft choice Kreuzer picked in Nic of time ); 26 November 2007〕 He was named in the Under-18 All-Australian Team in both 2007 and 2008, and was awarded a scholarship with the Australian Institute of Sport to become a member of the AIS/AFL Academy Squad.〔O’Donoghue, Craig; (Tiger pair get AFL camp call ); 28 August 2008〕〔() AIS Athlete profile: Nicholas Naitanui〕 A much-hyped Naitanui was invited to the 2008 AFL Draft Camp and his results were impressive. He managed to equal the running vertical jump record previously set by Jared Brennan, but just fell short of Trent Croad's standing jump record. His sprint, agility and endurance tests were also impressive. Many media commentators believed that Naitanui was in contention to be taken as the number 1 pick in the 2008 AFL Draft.〔(The four tops ); 1 October 2008〕 The Melbourne Football Club, who retained that pick, had looked at Naitanui, but raised concerns about his skill level, in particular his kicking, and instead selected Victorian Jack Watts. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Nic Naitanui」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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