Jack Newnes verdict on his local footy debut in Greensborough’s win

The local footy post-match is a world away from AFL recovery and former Blue and Saint Jack Newnes got his first taste with Greensborough.

Jack Newnes in action for Greensborough. Picture: Nathan McNeill

A hard earned thirst needs a big cold beer and the best cold beer comes after a win.

Jack Newnes certainly earned his with a strong local footy debut in Greensborough’s NFNL Division 1 win over Macleod on Good Friday.

The former Carlton and St Kilda midfielder showed his class in a typically rusty Round 1 clash despite missing the three weeks of training due to an ankle injury.

The celebratory post-match beer is a world away from the recovery regimen of an AFL player but a classic example of suburban footy.

“How good is it. I was just icing my ankle and now I’m on the cans, so it’s a little bit different,” Newnes said after the match.

Jack Newnes in action for Carlton.

“I love it, it’s great, and we’ll go and have a few beers with the Macleod boys.”

The match at DeWinton Park saw Newnes make his Borough debut and former Essendon star Michael Hurley make his return for Macleod.

Newnes never played senior local football before being drafted by the Saints, instead coming through Ivanhoe juniors before going on to represent Marcellin College, Northern Knights and Vic Metro.

He made an impressive start, running back with the flight in the opening seconds of the match to take a strong mark before a pin-point pass to Jamie Smith on the lead.

In the third quarter as Greensborough missed chance after chance it was Newnes who provided a much-needed goal.

Taking the handball from Joel Trudgeon, Newnes ran to the forward arc and slotted the goal to break a run of four straight behinds.

He then provided the assist for Tom Phelan’s fourth with a perfectly weighted pass.

Despite the strong showing, Newnes said he felt “like a busted arse” after almost missing the game due to injury.

Charlie Bowes in action for Greensborough. Picture: Valeriu Campan

Tom Phelan kicked four goals for Greensborough. Picture: Valeriu Campan

“I had a weird prep, I played the first practice game against Keilor and got caught up in a weird tackle and hurt my ankle in the first 10 minutes,” he said.

“I didn’t play the last few weeks so I was a bit underdone.

“I wasn’t sure (I’d play) until I trained, I was still sore training through the week but I knew I could get through.

“I’ve played with worse injuries and we’ve got a 15-day break going into the next game, so I knew I’d get a good spell.”

It was a strong first-up performance by a Greensborough team that had lost several key players during the off-season.

The club will look to instead hand the reins to its young talent and they proved too quick and too skilful for Macleod.

Ethan Luke’s speed was eye-catching, while Jackson Hasler, Angus Seivers, Nathan Howard, Daniel Ferronato and Rayden Garrard all impressed.

Newnes is looking forward to passing on his experience to the next generation and is confident the club has an exciting future.

“We’ve got a good young side in that want to have a crack,” he said.

“It’s been good to get down and share some experiences.

“There’s three or four older guys like Jack Johnston, the captain, Ben Pannam and even Jamie Smith, who’s come into the club, who have showed great leadership.

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“We just let them play the way they want to play, attack the way they want to attack and it works for us.

“We want to play an exciting brand and it probably wasn’t as exciting as we can be today but once we release the shackles, we’re going to play some fast-flowing, exciting footy.”

Along with Newnes, new recruits Joe Ayton-Delaney, Jamie Smith and Charlie Bowes were also among the best.

Greensborough will return to War Memorial Park for a Round 2 clash against Montmorency on April 22.