Nic Naitanui

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Nicholas Naitanui (; born 4 May 1990) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was born in Sydney to Fijian parents, and 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 Richmond. He played ten games in his debut season, and received one Brownlow Medal vote for a three-goal game against Hawthorn. 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 234 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 and was the first Fijian to ever be named in the All-Australian team.