Nic Naitanui has revealed how a trip to the Gaza Strip left him in tears and fearing for his safety as part of a harrowing off-season experience.
Naitanui has had a resilient footy career, conquering two ACL reconstructions, but the star West Coast ruckman had things put into perspective when was caught up in conflicts in the Middle East in October 2018.
The 30-year-old told the Ordineroli Speaking podcastof a hairy situation while in Palestine shortly after the Eagles’ premiership triumph as he took time away from the club to rehab his second ACL rupture.
Naitanui utilised a portion of the off-season break to travel to Israel, but the streets of Jerusalem weren’t enough, calling in a favour to a former foreign affairs minister to venture as far as the Syrian border.
“I was really scared,” Naitanui said.
“The club told me not to go. A good friend of ours, Julie Bishop, she helped me get across – obviously having a lot of dealings with foreign affairs and the stuff over in Israel.
“She was the number one ticket holder for a while at West Coast, and she helped me get in contact with a few people and put me in the right places.