This article first appeared in the September 2020 edition of Eagle Eye
Nic Naitanui squats on his haunches, processing his thoughts in the moments before the centre bounce.
As the seconds tick by, he springs to his full height and as the start of the action draws nearer he patrols the turf in his half of the centre circle, keeping his opponent guessing as to his starting point. He is like a bull pawing at the surface, ready to launch.
Siren sounds. Umpire takes a step towards the pad in the middle of the circle, thumps the Sherrin into the deck and Naitanui launches. Game on.
There are few things West Coast fans embrace with greater enthusiasm than the moment when Naitanui confronts his opponent face to face. So many good things happen in there.
Either the All Australian ruckman, with a deft touch and a delicate rotation of the wrist, drops the ball into the hands of Luke Shuey, Tim Kelly or Dom Sheed, or the imposing big man follows up at ground level, bullying the ball forward.
It’s hard to imagine anything more intimidating than the 200cm athlete bearing down as you’re about to gather possession, his wingspan seemingly stretching from one side of the centre square to the other. In an instant he transforms from the most artistic ruckman in the game to a fearsome midfielder, hunting the ball insatiably.
And that’s what makes Naitanui unique.
While 2020 has been challenging on so many levels, so many new experiences, so many unknowns, Naitanui has been as good as he has ever been. He has been flexible and adaptable and to most was a shoo-in for his second All Australian blazer.
With shorter quarters suiting the best burst player in the competition he excelled and imposed himself in the bigger moments of tight games to ensure his club played finals for the sixth time in succession and for the 25th time in its history.
“I was able to get a full pre-season together as well as that additional time during the COVID break,” Naitanui reflected during the gap between the last qualifying game and the first elimination final against Collingwood.
“Initially I was pretty frustrated having done the pre-season and then footy was almost taken away for the year, but to get back and have the confidence in my body – especially after all the injuries I’ve had – is something I have been pretty happy with.
“I sat down with Kofe (performance coach Warren Kofoed) and did our exit meeting and even though the quarters were shorter, my game time was the same as it had been in previous years. But I guess having shorter quarters meant I was playing a higher percentage of game time.
“I think it has helped a fair bit. There is also a bit more time between centre bounces which has enabled me to get a little bit more rest and jump at it full tilt. I think it has helped my game a little bit.”
Naitanui played 16 of 17 matches, the medical staff deciding that in the thick of the compressed fixture during the club’s second stint in a Queensland hub, when they played five games in 19 days, that the big man should have a rest.
“I didn’t feel like I needed it,” Naitanui confided.
“Myself and Shannon Hurn got rested, JK had his rest through concussion. We were all due for a spell and we all hate missing footy. But looking back on it, our medical guys made the right decision.
“Trying to be a hero, wanting to play all of those games, was probably never going to happen.”
That compressed fixture during the second hub was the most testing period of the season and not surprisingly, given the physical demands imposed on the players, a number of senior stars suffered soft tissue injuries.
It meant Adam Simpson and his match committee needed to plumb the depths of the club’s list and it created a different look in the midfield with captain Shuey, Yeo, Jack Redden and Mark Hutchings all missing for stretches of games.
“We had a few changes with a few different guys coming into the midfield,” Naitanui assessed.
“Guys like Liam Duggan, who came into the mix from half-back, Hamish Brayshaw, Brendon Ah Chee, Xavier O’Neill – and teaching guys like Bailey Williams who rucked alongside me at times – but the biggest inclusion was TK (Tim Kelly).
“We didn’t get to do a lot of practice with it because we were training in small groups, so we pretty much rolled it out on game day. That chemistry has built over the weeks and we have a pretty good connection now.
“Quietly, I’m pretty happy with what I have done, but we park all of that now and it’s all about these next weeks that will determine how I have gone and how the team has gone.”
