Greensborough dealt blow as marquee off-season recruit steps away

Greensborough has been dealt a blow with the club’s marquee ex-AFL off-season recruit stepping away from the Northern club.

Jack Newnes in action for Greensborough. Picture: Nathan McNeill

Greensborough has been dealt a huge blow with ex-AFL recruit Jack Newnes stepping away from the club.

The former Carlton and St Kilda midfielder played in the Borough’s Good Friday win over Macleod but hasn’t featured since.

The NFNL Division 1 club confirmed he has since moved away and gotten a new job and wasn’t able to commit for the rest of the season.

Newnes was Greensborough’s marquee signing for 2023 and played a key role in the Round 1 win despite struggling with an ankle injury.

Borough coach Saade Ghazi thanked Newnes for his time and honesty.

NFNL footy: Macleod v Greensborough. Jack Newnes (Greensborough). Picture: Valeriu Campan

“He’s moved down the peninsula and got a new job,” Ghazi said.

“The job we originally got him he didn’t enjoy so he got a new job, he’s got a new born now as well, so it just became too hard and he couldn’t commit.

“We’re on the new path so we’ve got to have a good buy-in and he was honest with us that he couldn’t do that.”

In a double blow, it has also been confirmed young gun Jackson Hasler has suffered an ACL injury and will miss the rest of the year.

After starting the season with wins over Macleod and Montmorency, Greensborough fell to its first defeat against West Preston-Lakeside on Saturday.

The Borough was in front late in the final quarter but couldn’t hold on as the Roosters claimed a thrilling three-point win at Moore Oval.

Ghazi said it would be an important lesson for his young players, with youth a key focus this season.

“We were in front with a minute and a half to go, we just didn’t work through it as well as we could have,” he said.

Jack Newnes in action for Carlton.

“All we can ask for is we keep improving and we’re in position to win games, it’s been a solid start but we’ve got 15 games to do.

“That’s what we’re about now, we’ve had a lot of players leave for different reasons, so it’s good timing to set the club up again.

“We’ve got two under-19 teams, Jack (Newnes) would have been handy with his experience but we’ve still got a lot of experience players. We’ve got a nice blend.

“Our 19s beat a strong West Preston and Mont the week before, so they’ll be more debutants in the next few weeks get an opportunity.

“We’ll play a 23rd (man) this week too, so we’re excited about the young talent around the club.”

The Borough will look to bounce back but faces a difficult task as reigning premier Heidelberg visits War Memorial Park.

The Tigers are also coming off their first defeat of the campaign after a five-point loss to Montmorency.

Ghazi knows his club’s best can challenge anyone.

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“They’ll be tough to beat but as you saw last week Mont beat them and we beat Mont the week before,” he said.

“Anything can happen in footy, you just got to play well on the day.

“It’s an even comp as you can see, so you’ve got to put your best foot forward on the day.”

Joel Trudgeon (Box Hill) and Zac Hart (Northern Bullants) could be unavailable for Greensborough, while Jonathan Tomasiello (Collingwood), Sean Martin and Nathan Honey (Northern Bullants) could all be out of action due to VFL duties.