To help launch the 2017 10 Year Anniversary Gala Charity Ball we invited along a number of the 'Team oif the Decade' nominees that will also be recognised on the night.
Nathan Friend is nominated for the hooker position and is a favourite to take out the number nine award.
NATHAN FRIEND
A Toowoomba junior, Nathan Friend had his eyes set on a career as a builder when the opportunity to join the Brisbane Broncos saw him leave the comforts of the country to try his luck in the NRL.
Despite making his NRL debut with the Broncos, his one and only appearance for the club, Friend accepted an offer from the Storm where he spent the next four seasons playing alongside Cameron Smith.
During his final season with the club, Friend played in 21 of the team’s regular season matches including all three finals encounters including the grand-final against the Brisbane Broncos.
It was to be Nathans final match in purple with the Pint-sized warrior returning to Queensland to join the Gold Coast Titans ahead of their inaugural NRL season.
After vying for Hooking duties with fellow foundation utility player Clint Amos for the first nine games of the 2007 season, Friend won the prized number 9 jersey and made it his own for the next five years, playing 100 NRL matches and cementing himself as one of the teams most admired, durable, relentless and well professional players in the club history.
After 100 games and 4 seasons on the Gold Coast, Friend shocked Titans fans when he announced he’d accepted an offer to join the New Zealand Warriors ahead of the 2012 NRL season. The hardworking Hooker an immediate hit across the ditch due to his extremely high work ethic and tenaciousness in defence. Contract extensions kept Nathan in Auckland for four seasons before returning to Australia and the Gold coast where he was announced as co-captain of the Titans heading into the 2016 season, Nathans final season in the NRL.
Despite suffering multiple concussions, Friend contested 14 matches during the year, leading the club into the finals series for the first time since 2010.
In 15 seasons, Nathan Friend played 235 games and proudly representing four NRL teams before hanging up his boots and getting back to work as a builder.
CLUBS:
Brisbane Broncos: 2002
Melbourne Storm: 2003 - 2006
Gold Coast Titans: 2007 - 2011
New Zealand Warriors: 2012 – 2015
Gold Coast Titans: 2016
REPRESENTATIVE HONOURS:
NRL All Stars 2015
To find out more details about the 10 Year Anniversary Gala Charity Ball click here.
