AS SOMEONE who has been crowned Carlton’s Best Clubman on three occasions since his arrival, it comes as no surprise that Nic Newman is happy to do whatever his team and club ask of him.
It’s indicative of the man that when an unfortunate ruptured patella in pre-season meant a long-term recovery was on the cards, Newman - after the initial disappointment - immediately turned his attention to how he could help the majority.
Assisting with a game-day bench role, Newman also continues to mentor some of the group’s emerging defenders in combination with undergoing his own rehabilitation.
Speaking on 3AW where he’ll also occasionally be providing special comments starting from this weekend, Newman detailed how the last few months have panned out starting from the moment of his injury in January.
“Everyone processes it differently, depending on who you are and where you’re at in your career. It’s devastating… I did the same injury five years ago, so the fortunate but unfortunate thing is I’ve dealt with it before,” Newman said.
“This one hurt a little bit more, being my age. The initial part is some shock and being shattered, but for me personally, I tried to be around my family - I’ve got a young daughter who’s six months old, so that gave me some great perspective.
“I don’t know how many years I’ve got left in the game, but I’m definitely closer to the end than the start. It was about trying to get stuck into rehab pretty quickly and staying involved - it was ‘how can I still be involved?’.”
One of the Blues’ key defensive cogs in recent seasons alongside Jacob Weitering, Newman’s absence has opened up another spot in a new-look defensive mix for the Blues.
While he said that his timeline “hasn’t really changed”, he’ll continue to maximise both himself and others - as he has done ever since arriving at IKON Park at the end of 2018.
“It’s all about how I can help. It might just be in a small way, but whether it’s helping some young half-backs like Ollie Hollands and Matt Carroll, or whether it’s my role on the bench, I try and zero in and focus on that. Watching [games] is really difficult, it presents different challenges.
“The [recovery] timeline hasn’t really changed. I’ve still got a lot of work to do and markers to hit - I’ve just started running outside. It’s amazing, you go and do one run outside and everyone things you’re ready to play and moving amazingly!
“The difference between that and getting to a level where you can play an AFL game, there’s a fair gap. At the moment, the timeline hasn’t changed: there’s still lots of work to do, but it’s tracking really well.”
