George Ndaira (born 22 February 1985) is an Australian former professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. He played at representative level for

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

, and at club level in the

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

(NRL) for the

St. George Illawarra Dragons The St. George Illawarra Dragons is an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing both the Illawarra and St George regions of New South Wales. The club has competed in the National Rugby League since 1999 after a joint-ve ...

South Sydney Rabbitohs The South Sydney Rabbitohs are a professional Australian rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen pla ...

and

Newcastle Knights The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. They compete in Australasia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership. Playing in red and blue, th ...

, as a or .

Background

George Ndaira was born in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia, he has Lebanese

ancestor An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder or a forebear, is a parent or (recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from whom ...

s, and eligible to play for

due to the

grandparent rule The grandfather rule, in sports which usually only permit participants to play for the team of their country of birth, is an exception which gives participants the option to play for the country of any of their ancestors up to the grandparents. ...

Rugby league career

Playing career

Ndaira was a part of the 2005

St George Illawarra Dragons The St. George Illawarra Dragons is an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing both the Illawarra and St George regions of New South Wales. The club has competed in the National Rugby League since 1999 after a joint- ...

Jersey Flegg Grand Final side. He played his school football at

Marist College Kogarah The college was founded in 1909, and has a tradition based on the teachings of the French educator Saint Marcellin Champagnat, the founder of the Marist Brothers. The school offers education to approximately 1,200 students from Year 7 to Year 12. ...

and was coached by Dave Callander and Mark Hildebrandt. He made his first grade debut in 2006 for the

. He played three first grade games with the Dragons. In 2007, joined the

Sydney Roosters The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby league, Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won ...

, however, he did not play a first grade game for the club, playing mostly in the reserve grade team. In 2008, he joined

, playing fourteen games for the club in the season, and scoring four points (by kicking two goals). In 2009, he joined the

. He played there for two seasons. After the 2010 season, Ndaira was released from the Knights so he could sign with local Newcastle club, Kurri Kurri Bulldogs. However, this was short-lived, and he joined the

Wests Tigers The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional Rugby league, rugby league football team, based in the Inner West and South West Sydney. They have competed in the National Rugby League since being formed at the end of the 1999 NRL season as a j ...

in 2011. While waiting for a spot in the Tigers' first grade team, he played for the Tigers' feeder side in the

NSW Cup The NSW Cup, currently known as the Knock-On Effect NSW Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a rugby league competition for clubs in New South Wales. The competition has a history dating back to the NSWRFL's origins in 1908, starting off as a reserve ...

. After failing to reach first-grade for the Tigers, Ndaira again signed with Kurri Kurri for the 2012 season, as the captain-coach. In 2015, Ndaira was an assistant coach for the Newcastle Knights

New South Wales Cup The NSW Cup, currently known as the Knock-On Effect NSW Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a rugby league competition for clubs in New South Wales. The competition has a history dating back to the NSWRFL's origins in 1908, starting off as a reserve ...

side. During the season, he was asked to come out of retirement by head coach Matt Lantry, after the side suffered a number of injuries. He subsequently went on to play in the Knights' 2015 New South Wales Cup Grand Final win over the

Wyong Roos The Wyong Rugby League Football Club are an Australian rugby league club based on the Central Coast of New South Wales. The club competed in the New South Wales Cup from 2013 to 2018 and still competes in the Central Coast Division Rugby Leagu ...

Representative career

Ndaira played for Lebanon in the 2008 Rugby League World Cup qualifiers however Lebanon drew with Ireland and did not qualify. George's moved from his usual position of Hooker to Half Back whilst playing in the Qualifiers and earned two

Man of the Match In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...

performances against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

before his side bowed out against

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

Career highlights

* ''Junior Club:'' Arncliffe Scots * Round 3, 2008: Ndaira scored his first points in first grade (kicking a goal)

Coaching career

Ndaira captain-coached the Kurri-Kurri Bulldogs, who played in the local Newcastle Rugby League competition. He began this role in 2012 and lasted for two years. In 2014, Ndaira became an assistant coach for the Newcastle Knights

team. He remained there until the end of 2016. In 2017, he joined the

Newtown Jets The Newtown Jets are an Australian rugby league football club based in Newtown, a suburb of Sydney's inner west. They currently compete in the NSW Cup competition, having left the top grade after the 1983 NSWRFL season. The Jets' home ground ...

as their assistant coach, and stayed there until the end of 2021. In 2022, he became the coach for the Cronulla Sutherland Sharks

Jersey Flegg Cup The Jersey Flegg Cup is a junior rugby league competition played in New South Wales, contested among teams made up of players aged 21 or under. The competition is administered by the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL), and is named for Easter ...

(under 21's) team.

References

External links

George Ndaira Official Player Profile

Daleeaustralia.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ndaira, George 1985 births Living people Australian people of Lebanese descent Australian rugby league coaches Australian rugby league players Balmain Ryde-Eastwood Tigers players Central Coast Centurions players Kurri Kurri Bulldogs players Lebanon national rugby league team captains Lebanon national rugby league team players Newcastle Knights players North Sydney Bears NSW Cup players Rugby league halfbacks Rugby league hookers Rugby league players from Sydney South Sydney Rabbitohs players St. George Illawarra Dragons players