Brent Naden

Brent Naden

Personal information
Born	(1995-12-30) 30 December 1995 (age 28) Wellington, New South Wales, Australia
Height	189 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight	97 kg (15 st 4 lb)
Playing information
Position	Centre, Wing
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 2019–21 Penrith Panthers 37 24 0 0 96 2022 Canterbury Bulldogs 8 1 0 0 4 2022– Wests Tigers 27 8 0 0 32 Total 72 33 0 0 132 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 2022–23 Indigenous All Stars 2 1 0 0 4
Source: [1] As of 30 June 2024

Brent Naden (born 30 December 1995) is an Indigenous Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a centre and winger for the Wests Tigers in the National Rugby League (NRL).

Naden previously played for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, and the Penrith Panthers with whom was part of the 2021 NRL Grand Final win as 18th man.

Background

Naden was born in Wellington, New South Wales, and is of Indigenous Australian (Wiradjuri) and German descent. ^[2] He was educated at Wellington High School. ^[3]

Naden played his junior rugby league for the Wellington Cowboys, before being signed by the Penrith Panthers.

Playing career

Early years

From 2014 to 2015, Naden played for the Penrith Panthers' NRL Under-20s team, captaining the side to a premiership ^[4] and being named on the interchange bench in the NYC Team of the Year in 2015. ^[5]

In 2016, Naden graduated to their Intrust Super Premiership NSW team. ^[6]

Naden playing for the Mounties in 2017

In 2017, Naden joined the Canberra Raiders but failed to make an NRL appearance, only appearing in their ISP NSW team Mount Pritchard Mounties. ^[7]

In 2018, Naden joined the Newcastle Knights on a 1-year contract, ^[8] but again failed to make an NRL appearance.

2019

In 2019, Naden rejoined the Panthers. ^[4] In round 12 of the 2019 NRL season, Naden made his NRL debut for the Panthers against the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles. ^[3]

In round 15 against the New Zealand Warriors, Naden scored 2 tries, one of which was an 80 metre effort as he beat several New Zealand players to reach the try line. Penrith would go on to win the match in extra time 19-18. ^[9]

In Round 18 against St George, Naden scored two tries as Penrith won the match 40-18 at Penrith Stadium. ^[10]

2020

In round 20 of the 2020 NRL season, Naden scored two tries in a 42-0 victory over Canterbury-Bankstown at ANZ Stadium. Penrith finished the regular season having already claimed the Minor Premiership at week earlier. ^[11]

Naden played 19 games for Penrith in the 2020 NRL season scoring 12 tries. He played in the 2020 NRL Grand Final where Penrith lost to Melbourne 26-20. ^[12]

2021

On April 28, 2021, it was announced that Naden had signed a two-year deal with Canterbury-Bankstown starting in 2022.

In round 22, Naden scored two tries for Penrith in a 34-16 victory over St. George Illawarra. ^[13]

2022

In round 1 of the 2022 NRL season, Naden made his club debut for Canterbury in their 6-4 victory against North Queensland at the Queensland Country Bank Stadium. ^[14] On 17 May after Trent Barrett stood down as coach of the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, Naden was signed by the West Tigers effective immediately. ^[15] Naden made his club debut the same week for the Wests Tigers in their 36-22 victory against his former club Canterbury at Leichhardt Oval. ^[16] In round 14, Naden was sent off for a dangerous lifting tackle in Wests 30-4 loss against Manly. ^[17] Naden played a total of ten games for the Wests Tigers in the 2022 NRL season as the club finished bottom of the table and claimed the Wooden Spoon for the first time. ^[18]

2023

Naden played a total of eight games for the Wests Tigers in the 2023 NRL season and scored two tries as the club finished with the Wooden Spoon for a second straight year. ^[19]

Statistics

Year	Team	Games	Tries	Pts
2019	Penrith Panthers	12	8	32
2020		18	12	48
2021		7	4	16
2022	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	8	1	4
	Wests Tigers	10	5	20
2023		8	2	8
2024		9	1	4
	Totals	72	33	132

*denotes season competing

source: ^[20]

Personal life

In December 2020, Naden received a one month ban for a doping violation after testing that took place at the 2020 NRL Grand Final. ^{[21] [22]} He also received treatment at a rehabilitation clinic in Sydney. ^[23]

References

1. "Brent Naden - Career Stats & Summary - Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org.
2. Walter, Brad (23 March 2022). "League of nations:Stars representing 40 countries". NRL.com.
3. "Round 12 team lists, NRL squad announcements & updates". National Rugby League. 28 May 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
4. "Piazza D'Oro NRL Teamlist: Round 12". Penrith Panthers. 28 May 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
5. "2015 Holden Cup Team of the Year". NRL.com. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
6. "TEAMS - Intrust Super Premiership NSW Rd 11". New South Wales Rugby League. 17 May 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
7. Polkinghorne, David (14 June 2017). "Canberra Raiders and Mounties centre Brent Naden gets one-week ban for biting". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
8. NewcastleKnights.com.au (21 November 2017). "Johns and Naden sign with Knights for 2018" . Retrieved 28 May 2019.
9. "Maloney nails field goal as Panthers down Warriors in extra time". NRL.
10. "Hot Panthers to keep riding rookie wave". 7News.
11. "Parramatta beats Wests Tigers to claim third spot on NRL ladder, Panthers and Raiders score wins". www.abc.net.au.
12. "Melbourne Storm beat Penrith Panthers as it happened". www.theguardian.com.
13. "Sydney Roosters beat Brisbane Broncos 21-20, Penrith defeats St George Illawarra 34-16". www.abc.net.au.
14. "Canterbury Bulldogs edge North Queensland Cowboys in Townsville, Parramatta Eels beat Gold Coast Titans". www.msn.com.
15. "'Gone to mud': How Naden's Dogs release 'is just the beginning' as another star eyes exit". www.foxsports.com.au.
16. "'Going up by the minute': Tiger's perfect Dolphins audition in fitting end to Dogs' brutal week". www.foxsports.com.au.
17. "'Horrible': Tigers star cops BIG ban for 'worst tackle of the year'". www.foxsports.com.au.
18. "Canberra Raiders hand out 56-10 NRL drubbing to Wests Tigers as Cronulla beats Newcastle Knights 38-16". www.abc.net.au.
19. "'Circus act' that summed up year from hell... and big call left for Benji: Wests Tigers Brutal Review". www.foxsports.com.au.
20. "Official NRL profile of Brent Naden for Wests Tigers | NRL.com". National Rugby League. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
21. "Why Naden could cop just a one month ban despite testing positive to cocaine". www.foxsports.com.au.
22. "Rugby League player receives sanction". Sport Integrity Australia. 2 March 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
23. "Naden enters rehab facility to address personal issues". www.nrl.com.

External links

• Penrith Panthers profile