Brent Naden never imagined playing for any club other than the Bulldogs in 2022 but after a whirlwind week that saw he and Trent Barrett depart Belmore, the Indigenous All Stars centre hopes he can find top form and his former coach can find peace.
After playing for the Bulldogs against Newcastle on the Friday of Magic Round, Naden watched on as Barrett resigned on the Monday before moving on himself 24 hours later and finishing a crazy week helping Wests Tigers roll his former club at Leichhardt Oval.
With 102 metres from 11 runs in the Tigers’ 36-22 win, Naden took a solid first step towards his goal of being a solid contributor for new boss Michael Maguire, but his thoughts were still very much with his former coach.
“It’s not in Trent to quit but you have to look after yourself and your mental health,” Naden said.
“He has been in the game for a long time and he felt a lot of pressure from football and now he has to look after his family and his mental state.
“I sent Trent a text on Monday after he resigned just to make sure he was OK and said we’d catch up for a coffee later. I have a lot of time for Baz and he had a lot of time for me. He’s one of my good mates.
“With Baz leaving, Gus [Gould] pulled me aside and said there was an option to come here [to the Tigers] this year and he advised it was probably my best option at the moment with a lot of young centres coming through at the Bulldogs.
“I went there to play under Baz but we weren’t performing and I wasn’t performing either so that’s footy and I’m a Tiger now and I need to try and play some good footy for Madge.”
Once Naden had made the decision to join the Tigers, Maguire was quick to get him into the team and was more than happy with what he saw from the 26-year-old on Friday.
“I’m really looking forward to being able to look closer at Brent’s game and how he’ll fit into the connections of the combinations with our players. He’s going to be really good for us,” Maguire said post-match.
“Obviously how the group is evolving at the moment, and real credit to our leaders, we have faced a fair bit over the last couple of months but I’m really pleased how they have kept themselves together and now we are starting to show that on the field.
“Now we have to roll back up again this week and do it all again.”
That next challenge comes in the form of the Rabbitohs at Accor Stadium on Saturday, giving Naden a full week of training to gel with his new team-mates.
It’ll be a far cry from the bizarre build-up to his first game, when he was named in the Bulldogs team on Tuesday and then became a Tiger later the same day.
“It all happened so quick. The Tigers played on Sunday [against the Cowboys] so they had a couple of days off and then I went in on Wednesday and was meeting a lot of people and trying to remember all their names,” Naden said.
“It was all a bit of a shock but I had to prepare the best I could. On Monday I was at the Dogs and four days later I’m playing against them.
“It was great to play at Leichhardt in front a big crowd. The boys lifted for Alex Twal’s 100th game. They didn’t want to let him down or the fans.”
https://www.nrl.com/news/2022/05/22/old-dog-naden-ready-to-learn-new-tricks-under-maguire/
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Naden has a right hand carry but played left centre.
Peachey has a strong left hand carry and played right centre.
It’s no surprise that both players came inside crabbing across field when they got the ball.
I dont get why they didnt play on opposite sides?
Are the coaches seeing something that I have overlooked?
Ive complained all year about LL playing on the wrong side as well. Just dumb coaching IMO.
I had a weird thought about old mate Naden and thought I'd resurrect this old thread. Fittingly the title was about Naden learning "new tricks"........now hear me out.
Brent Naden is a handy footballer. he is a big body, strong and has some pace. IMO he has always had a go but seemingly his mentality has always let him down with poor discipline and bad decisions. He seemingly has had his cards marked to flounder in reggies whilst the club looks for someone to take him. Its not going to happen. he is at the wrong end of his career for that to happen so what good can we make of him?
IMO the club is short at least two quality forwards and one pressing need is second row. Tell me Im crazy for thinking Naden is the perfect build and skillset for the modern secondrower? A more simple gameplan. Could it be a bold move to get something of value from him?
Could Naden learn some new tricks under Benji?
I think we all need a holiday to be honest. Think I’d rather JB coming back than Brent lining up in the backrow.I had a weird thought about old mate Naden and thought I'd resurrect this old thread. Fittingly the title was about Naden learning "new tricks"........now hear me out.
Brent Naden is a handy footballer. he is a big body, strong and has some pace. IMO he has always had a go but seemingly his mentality has always let him down with poor discipline and bad decisions. He seemingly has had his cards marked to flounder in reggies whilst the club looks for someone to take him. Its not going to happen. he is at the wrong end of his career for that to happen so what good can we make of him?
IMO the club is short at least two quality forwards and one pressing need is second row. Tell me Im crazy for thinking Naden is the perfect build and skillset for the modern secondrower? A more simple gameplan. Could it be a bold move to get something of value from him?
Could Naden learn some new tricks under Benji?
I had a weird thought about old mate Naden and thought I'd resurrect this old thread. Fittingly the title was about Naden learning "new tricks"........now hear me out.
Brent Naden is a handy footballer. he is a big body, strong and has some pace. IMO he has always had a go but seemingly his mentality has always let him down with poor discipline and bad decisions. He seemingly has had his cards marked to flounder in reggies whilst the club looks for someone to take him. Its not going to happen. he is at the wrong end of his career for that to happen so what good can we make of him?
IMO the club is short at least two quality forwards and one pressing need is second row. Tell me Im crazy for thinking Naden is the perfect build and skillset for the modern secondrower? A more simple gameplan. Could it be a bold move to get something of value from him?
Could Naden learn some new tricks under Benji?
Swap him with Hetherington and he can play for Madge again 😂
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Tell me Im crazy for thinking Naden is the perfect build and skillset for the modern secondrower?
Youre crazy
To be fair, I think he has something to offer as well, if only he pulled his head in. The games I saw him play reserve grade were really good! He obviously hadn’t given up and was trying to earn his place again. Unfortunately he has abused the trust of coaches and fans and has to do a bit more to get it back. Kind of like hoppa used to be. Strong impactful player but massive liability.
second row though is a stretch for me
Naden should be an excellent player. He has all the physical gifts. Unfortunately he doesn't have a brain.I had a weird thought about old mate Naden and thought I'd resurrect this old thread. Fittingly the title was about Naden learning "new tricks"........now hear me out.
Brent Naden is a handy footballer. he is a big body, strong and has some pace. IMO he has always had a go but seemingly his mentality has always let him down with poor discipline and bad decisions. He seemingly has had his cards marked to flounder in reggies whilst the club looks for someone to take him. Its not going to happen. he is at the wrong end of his career for that to happen so what good can we make of him?
IMO the club is short at least two quality forwards and one pressing need is second row. Tell me Im crazy for thinking Naden is the perfect build and skillset for the modern secondrower? A more simple gameplan. Could it be a bold move to get something of value from him?
Could Naden learn some new tricks under Benji?
Naden should be an excellent player. He has all the physical gifts. Unfortunately he doesn't have a brain.I had a weird thought about old mate Naden and thought I'd resurrect this old thread. Fittingly the title was about Naden learning "new tricks"........now hear me out.
Brent Naden is a handy footballer. he is a big body, strong and has some pace. IMO he has always had a go but seemingly his mentality has always let him down with poor discipline and bad decisions. He seemingly has had his cards marked to flounder in reggies whilst the club looks for someone to take him. Its not going to happen. he is at the wrong end of his career for that to happen so what good can we make of him?
IMO the club is short at least two quality forwards and one pressing need is second row. Tell me Im crazy for thinking Naden is the perfect build and skillset for the modern secondrower? A more simple gameplan. Could it be a bold move to get something of value from him?
Could Naden learn some new tricks under Benji?
😂
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I wonder if Luai, given his connection to them, might help get more out of Naden and Staines?
Wests Tigers Podcast - Talking everything Wests Tigers!
That would be progressI wonder if Luai, given his connection to them, might help get more out of Naden and Staines?
I do want to give Naden some credit. He was dumped to NSW cup, told he could leave and not given another chance in nrl despite being clearly better then some who were selected who at least at this stage aren't as good a player as him and he didn't drop his bundle he went back to nsw cup and won the players player award and having watched a lot of magpies games was head and shoulders above everyone else in that team.
We talk about attitude well that is the attitude we want players to have. So if he stays next year we can't waste a top 30 spot and he needs a clean slate for 2025 if he is still here.
I do want to give Naden some credit. He was dumped to NSW cup, told he could leave and not given another chance in nrl despite being clearly better then some who were selected who at least at this stage aren't as good a player as him and he didn't drop his bundle he went back to nsw cup and won the players player award and having watched a lot of magpies games was head and shoulders above everyone else in that team.
We talk about attitude well that is the attitude we want players to have. So if he stays next year we can't waste a top 30 spot and he needs a clean slate for 2025 if he is still here.
I wonder if Luai might be able to help his fortunes here?
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He certainly did himself no harm in terms of his attitude. Showed plenty of passion in that team & some really good moments. Not sure he’ll stay here but if another club was looking at a squad player, a back with experience who they’d probably get for close to minimum then they could do a lot worse. I really hope he can continue his career somewhere because he has the talent. Would go great in Super League but unsure if he’d want to move that far away given he has a young family.I do want to give Naden some credit. He was dumped to NSW cup, told he could leave and not given another chance in nrl despite being clearly better then some who were selected who at least at this stage aren't as good a player as him and he didn't drop his bundle he went back to nsw cup and won the players player award and having watched a lot of magpies games was head and shoulders above everyone else in that team.
We talk about attitude well that is the attitude we want players to have. So if he stays next year we can't waste a top 30 spot and he needs a clean slate for 2025 if he is still here.
