Krisnan Inu

Krisnan Inu

Inu (left) in 2008
Personal information
Full name	Krisnan Nevada Inu
Nickname	Smiling Assassin, Kris
Born	(1987-03-17) 17 March 1987 Auckland, Auckland Region, New Zealand
Height	185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight	99 kg (15 st 8 lb)
Playing information
Position	Centre, Wing, Fullback
Club
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
2007–2010	Parramatta Eels	78	37	60	0	268
2011–2012	NZ Warriors	21	12	0	0	48
2012–	Canterbury Bulldogs	33	14	64	2	186
	Total	132	63	124	2	502
Representative
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
2007–2013	New Zealand	5	1	7	0	18
As of 14 June 2011
Source: NRL Stats[1]

Krisnan Nevada Inu (born 17 March 1987) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs of the National Rugby League. A New Zealand national representative three-quarter back, he previously played for NRL cubs, the Parramatta Eels and New Zealand Warriors. Inu was a member of the 2008 World Cup-winning New Zealand team.

Playing career

Parramatta Eels

A Parramatta Eels junior, Inu made his first grade debut in the 2007 NRL season against the Canberra Raiders. After just one first grade match he was named to play for New Zealand in the ANZAC Day Test against Australia at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane. The Kangaroos ran out easy 30-6 winners over the Kiwis. After the test, Inu was dropped back to Premier League but returned to first grade through a series of injuries to regular players. Inu took on the kicking duties as Parramatta's primary kicker and full-back, Luke Burt, was injured mid-season. In Round 25 Inu scored three tries and kicked seven goals in Parramatta's 46-point win over Brisbane.^[2] In 2007, along with Hayne, Inu was the Eels top try-scorer. Inu's successful season was recognised when he was nominated for Rookie of the Year at the 2007 Dally M awards, however the award went to Melbourne Storm centre Israel Folau.

In August 2008, Inu was named in the New Zealand training squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup,^[3] and in October 2008, he was named in the final 24-man Kiwi squad.^[4] Inu only played one game in the World Cup, a 48-6 win over Papua New Guinea at the Robina Stadium on the Gold Coast where he kicked 6 of his 8 shots on goal. He was not selected for the World Cup Final at Suncorp Stadium where the Kiwis produced a boil over with a 34-20 win over Australia who were seeking their 7th straight World Cup.^{[citation needed]}

After a 2-4 start to the 2009 season, the Eels decided to re-tool their line-up, dropping Inu to the New South Wales Cup, with Taulima Tautai replacing him for the Round 7 match against the Brisbane Broncos.^[5] However, Inu returned to first grade from Round 10 onwards and was a large part of the Eels run to the 2009 NRL Grand Final where they were beaten 23-16 by the Melbourne Storm (the Storm would eventually be stripped of both their 2007 and 2009 premierships due to salary cap breeches, with no NRL premier recorded for either season).

Inu was again selected for New Zealand for the 2009 Four Nations, however injury saw him play no part in the tournament where the World Champion Kiwis failed to make the final.^{[citation needed]}

New Zealand Warriors

In May 2010, Inu signed a 3 year deal with the New Zealand Warriors from the 2011 NRL season. Inu helped the Warriors into the 2011 NRL Grand Final against the Manly Sea Eagles and had a mixed game. He put some big hits on opposing centre Steve Matai, and made a couple of what could have been telling line breaks, but bad handling each time handed the ball back to the Sea Eagles, who eventually ran out 24-10 winners over the gallant Warriors.^{[citation needed]}

Inu's up-and-down tenure at the Warriors was curtailed in May 2012 with his release and immediate signing with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.^[6]

Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs

Inu was released by the Warriors in May 2012 so he could immediately join the Des Hasler coached Bulldogs. He signed with the Bulldogs until the end of the 2015 season.^[7] The move immediately paid dividends for Hasler as in his first appearance for the Bulldogs, Inu scored two tries and was named man-of-the-match.^{[citation needed]}

References

External links

• Parramatta Eels profile