One word came to mind when Nic Newman’s was asked to describe his thoughts ahead of his first competitive hit out in the red and white.
“Finally.”
The 22-year-old has spent five long months recovering from a knee injury suffered on the eve of the 2014 Rookie Draft.
With rehab now behind him and having ticked all the boxes in his return to full fitness, Newman will line up for the Swans’ Round 4 NEAFL clash against Sydney Uni at the SCG.
“It has all gone to plan,” Newman said of the journey back.
“There have been no hiccups and we’ve left it as long as we could so I’m confident I won’t have any worries.
“I’m just really looking forward to getting out there and pulling on the jumper.”
Newman will be managed on Saturday, given about 40 minutes and unleashed after half-time “when the sting is out of the game” just to ensure both knee and player gets through unscathed.
Newman was not fussed on receiving limited game time given the slow start.
While the rest of his teammates were training together during pre-season campaign, Newman could be seen slugging it out day after day with club doctors running laps and getting valuable miles into his legs.
It isn’t the most ideal start to anyone’s time at a new club, let alone a young talent desperate to win the respect of teammates and winning the raps of the coaching staff with the aim of starting his career on the best possible note.
“It’s always difficult coming to a new club and moving interstate, let alone coming in on crutches and having five months off,” Newman said.
“It’s lonely-ish, but the boys and the club have been fantastic to me and really supportive.”
Newman formed a strong bond with teammates Lloyd Perris and Alex Johnson who are also battling respective knee injuries.
He credited Johnson’s story in particular as an eye-opener and one which quickly put his own injury into perspective, sponging off the luckless teammate’s positivity as he recovers from another reconstruction.
“I couldn’t begin to imagine what AJ has been through,” Newman said.
“As unfortunate as his situation is, he’s had a lot of experience in dealing with setbacks and injuries so he was really great in helping me and seeing the positives.”
Newman’s recovery hasn’t reduced him to the sidelines completely with the first-year recruit standing in as runner for NEAFL coach Marty Mattner, allowed him to view the game from different angles and gain a different perspective.
As much as he enjoyed delivering the messages, when it all boils down to it Newman was quite happy to pass the pink jumpsuit on to Perris for the opportunity to pull on the red and white for Saturday’s curtain closer.
