Though he must have been chuffed to be given the award for BOG on the weekend ( perhaps undeservedly IMO , because of Valenti's great game ) I couldn't help but feel sympathy for Newton when being interviewed after the game , and being asked what it was like to have a prodigy playing along side of him ( Watts ) .

With teeth obviously clenched , he was very magnanimous in his comments , but you could sense that he was secretly harbouring the desire for his most obvious long term rival for the FF position to die .

I didn't think there was any competition.

Newton's biggest battle is with himself and he is losing it rather prominently.

On the other hand: Phil Cleary has to be greatest windbag of a commentator since that vacuous smoothie on Ch 7 Gary Wilkinson.

Do feel for him, mind you I think Watts will be a CHF rather then FF. When Melbourne draft Butcher that will be Newton's biggest competition. And if Newton could kick straight he'd still be in Melbourne's side. Should oh had 4 against the Tigers and 2 against the crows.

I didn't think there was any competition.

Newton's biggest battle is with himself and he is losing it rather prominently.

On the other hand: Phil Cleary has to be greatest windbag of a commentator since that vacuous smoothie on Ch 7 Gary Wilkinson.

100% right....

Newton has himself as competition and that is all.

But even on the off chance it came down to Newton and Watts, there is every chance one of them could be a CHF, most likely Watts, because in my opinion he will play his career as a CHF.

FF is still open at Melbourne.

Yeah felt for him a little in the interview. He seems like a genuinely good fella. Is confidence his problem?

I don't know what the future holds for him but he has to make the most of every opportunity he gets from here on out. And he did his chances no harm on Saturday. Just got to string a few like that together and when and if he gets another shot in the Melbourne forwardline he's got to kick goals. It's a pretty simple equation for Juice.

i still think he will be a great third tall forward for us. But needs at least a couple more good games at Casey.

I just think he has some sort of X factor.

I feel sorry for him because we all expect so much from this guy and forget that he has been on the end of the worst delivery of the comp for the past three years.

I didn't think there was any competition.

Newton's biggest battle is with himself and he is losing it rather prominently.

On the other hand: Phil Cleary has to be greatest windbag of a commentator since that vacuous smoothie on Ch 7 Gary Wilkinson.

Two words. Dwayne Russell.

I watched that and felt for him, you just know he wanted to say "Talk about me, I kicked 5!".

The only chance Newton has is to perfect the "gorilla" role, bulk up and hope that Jack and Butcher kick it to you. Otherwise I can't see a role for him.

For mine, Newton has three major issues:

1) He has a terrible conversion rate from set shots

2) He is poor when the ball comes to ground and

3) He seems to lack the drive and dedication required to work at correcting 1 and 2.

In another post, I remember someone saying (I cant recall who, so apologies to whoever it was) that Newton should look at Fev as a guideline for how he can improve himself. In my opinion, Newton should look at Robbo: a player with obvious limitations -limitations which arent altogether dissimilar to Newtons- but who worked his arse off to improve his weaknesses as much as possible, and ended up not only getting a regular spot in the side, but becoming a damn good player in his own right. Newton doesn't need to beat Jack Watts, he's battling for the 2nd/3rd tall forward spot at Melbourne and so far (unfortunately for us), nobody is far ahead of him at this stage.

For mine, Newton has three major issues:

1) He has a terrible conversion rate from set shots

2) He is poor when the ball comes to ground and

3) He seems to lack the drive and dedication required to work at correcting 1 and 2.

3 more would be Watts, Jurrah and possibly Martin....not even daring to mention possible #2 draft pick

i also have to feel a little sorry for him. Just watching the geelong game and seeing robbo miss easy shots and blow one out on the full embarrasingly but we still love him yet juice has been banished and bagged relentlessly...

i know robbo has a few more runs on the board but he still thinks his return was more important than the game

Bub, as I said, I don't think he'll be competing with Watts, or even with Butcher if we get him, provided they both turn out to be KPP types as expected. If Newton makes it in the AFL, it'll be as a forward pocket or (less likely) a half forward flank.

Jurrah could be anything or nothing at this stage; we're excited about him now, but we were just as excited about Newton at the start of the 08 season and look what that came to. Martin was handy when pushed forward on Sunday, but obviously it's early days as far as that goes. Basically, I dont think Newton has much competition in the short term. Which means he really has no excuses if he cant crack a game.

not directly with watts..but as watts will undoubtedly take the 1st up role then it only leaves rom for two others really ( of Newtons ilk ) and theres more than enough competition for that possie. So Watts doesnt help his ( newtons ) cause one little it.

not directly with watts..but as watts will undoubtedly take the 1st up role then it only leaves rom for two others really ( of Newtons ilk ) and theres more than enough competition for that possie. So Watts doesnt help his ( newtons ) cause one little it.

Fwiw, 'two sheds jackson' acknowledged that point in his first post on the topic.

What the coach said … with Peter German

Michael Newton – He booted five goals, but kicked three behinds and two on the full, so he could've had nine or 10 goals to his name. The positive was that he fought back from being dropped. He also played with a positive attitude and was instrumental in our win. He worked hard, laying six or seven tackles, so it wasn't all about his offensive work. Michael really showed some really good character.

At a senior level, MN needs to take every opportunity, or he will be left behind.

What Newton needs is a "shrink" to help him with his confidence problem,the club should arrange it and fast, not too many more misses from 10 metres on the big stage and he'll be beyond help !!!!

No feelings of sympathy emanate out of any of my pores.

The thing that frustrates me the most with Newton is that there is no definition in his arms, he could have an imposing physique that would help him play better footy.

But he doesn't put the work in the gym that Miller does.

Even Bate, who spent most of his time as a mid, has more muscle definition.

Noticed after the half time siren, Newton giving the players a talk before heading off the ground.....anyone else?

High Tower i noticed that too.. yes he has been bagged for his poor attitude but i thought he showed a whole heap of leadership during the game.. him getting stuck into king fired them up in the last quarter.. should not have been dropped.

I think Newton feels like he belongs at VFL level and plays accordingly, I do not think he has felt comfortable at AFL level hence the bad decisions and the horrible kicking for goal, if any saw his game at the weekend his kicking was pretty good.

I think as Dean Baily said "it's all in his head"

The thing that frustrates me the most with Newton is that there is no definition in his arms, he could have an imposing physique that would help him play better footy.

But he doesn't put the work in the gym that Miller does.

Even Bate, who spent most of his time as a mid, has more muscle definition.

So you can tell how much work he does in the gym, simply by the "definition in his arms". It's nothing to do with his physical make-up. It's all about putting in the work. Robbie Flower, Michael Tuck and Kevin Bartlett must have been lazy sods in that case.

should not have been dropped.

He had to go because of those 2 shocking misses V's Adelaide. Needed to be held accountable.

I think sometimes we all ( me too ) can get conned into thinking the game is far more complex than it really is. A forward has only one job really.. to kick goals. Not only kick golas but to kick them at every opportunity and with consistency. They are at the end of a chain of efforts and those eforts need to be respected and rewarded with scoreboard pressure. If you are incapable of doing it then stand aside and allow someone who can. Newton seems to thrive at VFL level and choke at AFL level .

Not everyone is cut out for the big stage