Noa Nadruku

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Noa Nadruku
Personal information
Full name Noa Nadruku
Date of birth September 19, 1967
Place of birth Namatakula, Fiji
Height 174 cm
Weight 98 kg
Senior clubs*
Years Club Apps (points)
1993–1997
1998–1999		 Canberra Raiders
North Queensland Cowboys		 92 (292)
39 (68)

* Professional club appearances and points
counted for domestic first grade only.

Noa Nadruku (born September 19, 1967) is a Fijian former rugby league and rugby union footballer. He played in Australia for the Canberra Raiders (92 games between 1993 and 1997) and was named as one of the best 25 players after the Raiders' 25-year anniversary. His usual position was winger and in 1993 and 1996 he was the top try-scorer in the premiership.

Nadruku first played international rugby union for Fiji in 1989 and played a total of five games for that country between then and 1991. In 1993, playing the the Sevens tournament, he was spotted by Canberra coach Tim Sheens and invited to train with the Raiders. He had a slow start but against Cronulla in the fifth round Nadruku became a sensation with his compact build providing tremendous speed and power and scoring two tries and setting up several others. Against Manly Nadruku created even more of an impressson with strong defence to complement his powerful running. By the end of the year Nadruku had scored 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 fifteen years before.

A serious injury kept Nadruku off the field for the first half of 1994 but by the finals he was back at his best. Though he was criticised for dropping key bombs in the earlier finals, Nadruku was one of Canberra' best in their big win over Canterbury-Bankstown in the grand final, scoring a try, making several powerful runs, and involving himself throughout.

After an ordinary season by his own high standards in 1995, Nadruku helped Laurie Daley hold the Raiders together in a 1996 season decimated by injuries to Stuart and Clyde and suspensions to Kiwi props John Lomax and Quentin Pongia. However, a dispute over an off-field incident in which Nadruku was charged with drunkenness led to his sacking from the Raiders at the end of 1997. Nadruku finished his career with the North Queensland Cowboys 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.

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