CONSISTENCY is key.
That was Nic Newman’s message ahead of the Blues’ open training session at IKON Park this morning.
With Opening Round approaching and Carlton flying up to the Gabba where their 2023 season ended, Newman says the boys are ready and raring to kick off their year.
“I think the boys are looking forward to getting up there, getting away and giving it a crack,” Newman said.
“We showed in that [preliminary final] we’re definitely capable, it’s doing it for longer, we started well and that’s a little bit of the blueprint around how we want to play and for us, it’s consistently doing it for longer.”
On consistency, the defender was adamant that maintaining consistency throughout the home-and-away season was a key focus for the entire group in 2024.
Referencing the patches of form they had throughout the 2023 season, Newman said the Club wants to be known as a consistent side that can back up positive performances.
“The reality is that we were pretty inconsistent in the home-and-away season last year, we had a bad patch and got on a bit of a roll, so for us, it’s about being consistent,” he said.
“We want to be a really consistent home-and-away side that performs week in and week out, so that’s where our focus lies.”
Newman may have the undesirable task of lining up on Brisbane sharp-shooter Charlie Cameron, but the 31-year-old believes the backline is up to the task – especially after their showing in the second half of the Community Series match.
“We’re not sure who will get the match up, but we’re going to have to try and take care of [Cameron] because he’s a very handy player who has hurt us before,” he said.
“I think in our second half [against Melbourne], we got back to defending the way we wanted to and I thought ‘Kempy’ and Lewis Young had a great second half – we’re looking to take that momentum from the second half into Brisbane this week.”
One thing Newman isn’t worried about is Harry McKay, who had two outstanding outings in both pre-season games.
Backing in McKay’s diligence and hard-work mindset, the defender has no questions on his dedication to his craft and his ability to translate that work onto the footy field.
“He’s had two fantastic pre-season games, he’s been playing super footy and his pre-season has been awesome,” he said.
“[Harry] does a good job of focusing on what he does well and we love playing with him. We have full confidence in him and he backs it up with the work he puts in, so he’ll be right.”
Speaking in front of a packed IKON Park, fans showed up in numbers to support the Blues before their first game of the home-and-away season.
Newman admitted that support and passion from the fans was going to be more important than ever as they head into a season full of expectations.
“We get to play in front of 80-90 000 fans at home and they’re a passionate bunch and we feel lucky that we’ve got such an amazing supporter base and they turn out in droves,” he said.
“You can see hundreds are lining up and we’re still an hour away from training so it’s cool to see.
“They’re excited for the year ahead and so are we and we’re going to need their support throughout the year so it’s good to see them turn up today.”'
