David Bhana

David Bhana (born 13 January 1993) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer. He plays at lock. He previously played for the Newcastle Knights in the National Rugby League.[1]

David Bhana
Bhana playing for the Warriors in 2014.
Personal information
Born (1993-01-10) 10 January 1993
Auckland, New Zealand
Height183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight97 kg (15 st 4 lb)
Playing information
PositionLock
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2016 Newcastle Knights 7 1 0 0 4
Source: [1][2]
As of 20 February 2018

Background

Born in Auckland, New Zealand, Bhana is of Indian, and Māori descent[3] and played his junior rugby league for the Northcote Tigers, before being signed by the New Zealand Warriors. He attended Birkenhead College between 2006 and 2010, where he was the Head Boy and continued to play club rugby league, while playing 1st XV for the school. Along with 1st XV, he also represented the school in 1st XI cricket.[4] He then went on to study at the University of Auckland where he was a member of the University of Auckland Māori association, Ngā Tauira Māori. He went on to graduate with a Bachelor of Science majoring in Environmental Science and Geography.[5]

Bhana's family has a long history in the game, with his grandfather, father and his three brothers having played rugby league.

Playing career

Early career

From 2012 to 2013, Bhana played for the New Zealand Warriors' NYC team.[6] On 13 October 2012, he played for the Junior Kiwis against the Junior Kangaroos.[7] In 2013, he captained the side, including in the 30-42 2013 NYC Grand Final loss to the Penrith Panthers.[8] On 27 August 2013, he was named on the interchange bench in the 2013 NYC Team of the Year.[9] On 13 October 2013, he captained the Junior Kiwis against the Junior Kangaroos, in which the Kiwis went down 26–38.[10] In 2014, he graduated on to the Warriors' New South Wales Cup team.[11] On 3 November 2015, he signed a 2-year contract with the Newcastle Knights starting in 2016.[12][13][14]

2016

In round 1 of the 2016 NRL season, Bhana made his NRL debut for the Knights against the Gold Coast Titans.[15][16][17]

He was named in the New Zealand Māori squad for a match against the New Zealand Residents on 15 October 2016.[18]

2017

In April, Bhana suffered a severe knee injury while playing for the Knights' Intrust Super Premiership NSW team. The injury required multiple surgeries including an anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, ruling him out for the remainder of the season.[19][20] The injury prevented him from playing another game for the Knights as he was not offered a new contract beyond 2017.[21]

References
  1. "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  2. "David Bhana". Zero Tackle. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  3. "Aspirants attract Indians into Rugby League –". Indiannewslink.co.nz. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  4. "Birkenhead College Newsletter 2010" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 August 2012.
  5. "Graduation day for David Bhana".
  6. "B". Nyc Database. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  7. "Junior Kiwis Squad announced - Canterbury Rugby League". Foxsportspulse.com. 2 October 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  8. NRL. "Vodafone Junior Warriors: Meet the team - Warriors". Warriors.kiwi. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  9. "2013 Holden Cup Team of the Year". NRL.com. 27 August 2013. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
  10. "Nine Warriors in Junior Kiwis squad". NRL.com. 8 October 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  11. NRL. "Vb Nsw Cup Team Lists - Round One". NSWRL. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  12. NRL. "David Bhana joins Knights - Knights". Newcastleknights.com.au. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  13. "David Bhana signs with Knights". Zero Tackle. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  14. Dillon, Robert (28 October 2015). "Young Warriors teammates Bhana, Cook to join Knights | Newcastle Herald". Theherald.com.au. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  15. "Updated: Round 1 NRL team lists". NRL.com. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  16. NRL. "Late Mail: Titans v Knights - Knights". Newcastleknights.com.au. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  17. "NRL dream to become reality for Bhana". maoritelevision.com. 1 March 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
  18. "Auckland Rugby League - Auckland Rugby League".
  19. Media, NRL Digital. "David Bhana injury update". Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  20. Media, NRL Digital. "Injury update: David Bhana". Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  21. Media, NRL Digital. "Mitch Barnett wins Danny Buderus Medal". Archived from the original on 11 September 2017. Retrieved 11 September 2017.


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