Noa Nadruku (born 19 September 1967) is a Fijian former

rugby football Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union and rugby league. Canadian football and, to a lesser extent, American football were once considered forms of rugby football, but are seldom now referred to as such. The ...

er who played in the 1980s and 1990s. After representing Fiji in

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

, he switched to play

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 ...

in Australia for the

Canberra Raiders The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby ...

(92 games between 1993 and 1997) and was named as one of the best 25 players for the Raiders' 25-year anniversary.

Background

Noa Nadruku was born in

Namatakula Namatakula () is a village located in Fiji on the Coral Coast. The population is approximately 2,522. Notable people Namatakula is famous for producing rugby league and rugby union stars. Dual code * Lote Tuqiri dual international *Noa Nadruk ...

, Fiji. His usual position was running on the sideline, scoring hectic tries, generally using a cracking goosestep to leave defenders in his wake. In addition to winning the 1994 Grand Final with the Raiders, in

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

and

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

he was the top try-scorer in the League. The "Noa Nadruku Trophy" is awarded to the Australia Fijian Rugby League's player of the year.

Playing career

Rugby Union

Nadruku first played international rugby union for Fiji in 1988 and played a total of five games for Fiji between then and 1991.

Rugby League

In 1993, while playing in the

Rugby League World Sevens The Rugby League World Sevens, usually referred to as the World Sevens and sometimes as the World Cup Sevens, was a pre-season rugby league sevens tournament made up over the years primarily of New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL), Australian Rug ...

for Fiji, he was spotted by

coach

Tim Sheens Tim Sheens (born 30 October 1950) is an Australian professional rugby league football coach and former player. Head Coach of the Australia national team between 2009 and 2015, he has also been the head coach of National Rugby League (NRL) clubs ...

and invited to train with the team. He had a slow start to the

1993 NSWRL season The 1993 NSWRL season (known as the 1993 Winfield Cup Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the eighty-sixth season of professional rugby league football in Australia. The New South Wales Rugby League's sixteen teams competed for the J. J. G ...

, but against

Cronulla Cronulla is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Boasting numerous surf beaches and swimming spots, the suburb attracts both tourists and Greater Sydney residents. Cronulla is located 26 kilometres south of the Sydney ...

in the fifth round Nadruku scored two tries, setting up several others. Against

Manly-Warringah The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. The team colours are maroon and white, while their namesake and logo is the sea eagle. They compete in Australia's premier rugb ...

Nadruku created even more of an impression with strong defence to complement his powerful running. By the end of the year Nadruku had scored a club record 22 tries in just twenty games – being the first player to score more than one try per game in a full season since Larry Corowa had scored 24 tries in 22 games for Balmain in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

. A serious injury kept Nadruku off the field for the first half of

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

, but by the finals he was back at his best. Though he received criticism for suspect under the high ball in early finals games against North Sydney and

Canterbury-Bankstown Canterbury-Bankstown is a customary region of Sydney, Australia, in the south-western suburbs. The area is located around the Bankstown railway line, to the west of the St George region and to the south of the Inner West region. The suburbs ...

, Nadruku was one of Canberra's best in their 36–12 victory over Canterbury in the Grand Final, scoring a try, making several powerful runs, and involving himself throughout. During the season Nadruku scored 12 tries in 15 games, but his club record of 22 in a season was equaled by fullback

Brett Mullins Brett Mullins (born 21 January 1972) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s, and early 2000s. A New South Wales State of Origin and Australian international representative back, he played his club ...

. After an ordinary season by his own high standards in 1995, Nadruku played for Fiji in the 1995 World Cup. Nadruku, Mullins and

Laurie Daley Laurie William Daley AM (born 20 October 1969), also known by the nicknames of "Lozza" and "Loz", is an Australian professional rugby league football coach and a former player who played as a and in the 1980s and 1990s. He represented Aus ...

held the Raiders together in a 1996 season decimated by injuries to

Ricky Stuart Ricky John Stuart (born 7 January 1967) is an Australian professional rugby league football coach who is the head coach of the Canberra Raiders in the NRL and a former rugby league footballer who played as a in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. He ...

and

Bradley Clyde Bradley Clyde (born 27 January 1970) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s who, at the peak of his playing career was widely acknowledged as the best in the game. He represented b ...

and suspensions to Kiwi props

John Lomax John Avery Lomax (September 23, 1867 – January 26, 1948) was an American teacher, a pioneering musicologist, and a folklorist who did much for the preservation of American folk music. He was the father of Alan Lomax, John Lomax Jr. and Bess Lo ...

and

Quentin Pongia Quentin Lee Pongia (9 July 1970 – 18 May 2019) was a New Zealand rugby league footballer who represented New Zealand in the 1990s and 2000s. Background He was the grandson of fellow Kiwi international Jim Calder. His sister Megan Tahapeehi ...

. This season he was again the League's top try-scorer, scoring 21 tries in 21 games. A dispute over an off-field incident in which Nadruku was charged led to his sacking from the Raiders at the end of 1997. Nadruku finished his career with the

North Queensland Cowboys The North Queensland Cowboys is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, the largest town in North Queensland. They compete in Australia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL). Sinc ...

under his old coach Tim Sheens, often playing centre (where he had played most of his rugby union) but retaining his trademark power and pace.

References

External links

Noa Nadruku at fijirugbyunion.comraiders.com.au player listing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nadruku, Noa 1967 births Fijian rugby union players Fiji international rugby union players Fijian rugby league players Canberra Raiders players North Queensland Cowboys players Fiji national rugby league team players Dual-code rugby internationals Living people Australian people of I-Taukei Fijian descent Rugby league wingers Rugby union centres Rugby league centres People from Namatakula I-Taukei Fijian people Fijian emigrants to Australia