Ben Newton

[Ted Lasso 18,780]

Bloke seems to be flying under the radar a little, goal kicking midfielder, loves the hard stuff and has slotted into the best 22 nicely, uses the ball very well, runs hard offensively and defensively not hard to see why port didn't want to let him go.

[Gorgoroth 12,702]

Agree, he is rolling along nicely, getting a few kicks, tackles, kicks goals, but very unassuming.

Looks a solid get so far.

[DistrACTION Jackson 8,283]

Happy with his start. Needs to try and up those possessions though to have a bit more of an impact but that should come with the side 'gel-ing together'.

[TeamPlayedFine39 8,379]

One of those right-place-right-time sorta players.

Seems to miraculously find space at the perfect moment to hit the scoreboard.

IMHO he's been a very solid addition to the midfield rotation. Must say, I haven't noticed him in the center square at a bounce yet. Would love to see him more involved in the guts in the future.

[hemingway 7,615]

great find, and was up with our best against the Suns. Super impressive with good skills, run, and cool under pressure. None of the old Demon traits. Looks like he is straight off the production line with no defects. As others have said, our recent recruiting has been second to none.

[dazzledavey36 52,738]

Big fan of Newto. As someone pointed out would love to see him in the center bounce more often as he was a powerful clearence player in the SANFL. More games into him and i expect him to really flourish under Roosy.

[Goodvibes 3,596]

great find, and was up with our best against the Suns. Super impressive with good skills, run, and cool under pressure. None of the old Demon traits. Looks like he is straight off the production line with no defects. As others have said, our recent recruiting has been second to none.

Looks like a natural football player but the 'no defect' claim is a little optimistic. Looks like he's not blessed with speed and has a fair amount of work to do on his endurance. Seems to be winning more ball on the outside than the inside which differs from early reports on his game style. Wonder if this is a football dept instruction.

[Lord Travis 10,458]

He's been pretty good so far. He needs to find more ball, only averaging 16-17 disposals a match for a midfielder isn't great, but he's definitely shown he goes when it's his turn and hits the scoreboard as well. Hopefully we se him in the centre a bit more this year as the season goes on, he hasn't spent a lot of time there yet and has been floating around the flanks. He's got the ability to be a ball winner and should develop that over the next few years.
Overall he's been a good pickup for us and will likely be part of our midfield rotation for years to come. A step up on the M. Jones, Mckenzies and Bails IMO.

Edited April 29, 2015 by Lord Travis

[spirit of norm smith 15,143]

Yes another big bonus from the off season

[Goodvibes 3,596]

The exciting part is that players like Newton, vandenBerg and Brayshaw should all be significantly better in 12 months after another AFL standard pre-season.

[KingDingAling 3,737]

Newton is just ticking along nicely, I reckon he'll have a break out game soon. Great pick up.

[Hellaintabadplacetobe 4,282]

He's been pretty good so far. He needs to find more ball, only averaging 16-17 disposals a match for a midfielder isn't great, but he's definitely shown he goes when it's his turn and hits the scoreboard as well. Hopefully we se him in the centre a bit more this year as the season goes on, he hasn't spent a lot of time there yet and has been floating around the flanks. He's got the ability to be a ball winner and should develop that over the next few years.

Overall he's been a good pickup for us and will likely be part of our midfield rotation for years to come. A step up on the M. Jones, Mckenzies and Bails IMO.

17 disposals on average for a bloke that has played 8 games of footy in his career may not be great, but its pretty damn good to be honest! Long way to go but he could be an absolute beauty with 50 games under his belt.

[Little Goffy 13,992]

Currently a good footsoldier in a midfield that desperately needed extra competent players just to fill out a full squad on match day.

So even at that and nothing more, a valuable gain.

But definitely looks to have some more to him, we'll see how he develops with AFL game time.

Funny thing is, with the injuries at Port at the moment, he'd probably be getting a game there now.

[Nasher 33,607]

He's been pretty good so far. He needs to find more ball, only averaging 16-17 disposals a match for a midfielder isn't great, but he's definitely shown he goes when it's his turn and hits the scoreboard as well. Hopefully we se him in the centre a bit more this year as the season goes on, he hasn't spent a lot of time there yet and has been floating around the flanks. He's got the ability to be a ball winner and should develop that over the next few years.

Overall he's been a good pickup for us and will likely be part of our midfield rotation for years to come. A step up on the M. Jones, Mckenzies and Bails IMO.

The last two games he has only spent 75-76% of time time on the ground for 19 poessessions both games - on a "possession rate" basis that is as good as anyone, but it's low TOG numbers. Against Richmond, only Brayshaw, Michie, Kent and Jetta spent less time on the ground - a baby, the sub and two players injured early.

To me that points to a question about tank, not a question about finding the ball. Or just a question of seniority - he's being asked to play as a second string midfielder perhaps.

[dazzledavey36 52,738]

Him and Viv could really take off this year if they continue their good form.

[DeeSpencer 24,731]

The last two games he has only spent 75-76% of time time on the ground for 19 poessessions both games - on a "possession rate" basis that is as good as anyone, but it's low TOG numbers. Against Richmond, only Brayshaw, Michie, Kent and Jetta spent less time on the ground - a baby, the sub and two players injured early.

To me that points to a question about tank, not a question about finding the ball. Or just a question of seniority - he's being asked to play as a second string midfielder perhaps.

Tank and speed.

If he's playing on the wing I think he needs good rest so when he comes on he has as much burst speed as he can gather.

I'm not fully convinced his athleticism and traits are ideally suited to modern AFL. I mean to be play half forward or half back it's better if you have either pace or height to take more marks and make spoils. Inside midfielders these days are a usually bit bigger and stronger than him, outside players faster. He is young enough to work on all of that.

But I think he does a nice job as a versatile depth player and that should be the main aim. Right now we have a distinct lack of outside run. He has nice skills and solid decision making so he plays on a wing. If we get another starting quality wingman at some stage then I think he can mix it up and play more half forward, wing, into the the middle, half back.

If he keeps plugging away for nearly 20 touches a game then hopefully he has a break out game soon and maybe that will spur him on. He's played so few AFL games that he's probably still focussing really hard on his role, particularly if the wing isn't his most natural position.

[Deestroy All 14,262]

He's been pretty good so far. He needs to find more ball, only averaging 16-17 disposals a match for a midfielder isn't great, but he's definitely shown he goes when it's his turn

That one handed effort on Friday night might suggest otherwise.

But apart from that I've been more than impressed.

He'll definitely get better with time and as the midfield around him get better.

[Dr. Gonzo 23,702]

The exciting part is that players like Newton, vandenBerg and Brayshaw should all be significantly better in 12 months after another AFL standard pre-season.

I think a lot of people forget or miss the fact Newton and even Michie I think havent even played 10-15 AFL games. They have slotted in nicely and will only get better as they become more accustomed to the top level.

[Akum 2,660]

Could he slot in to Tyson's place if Dom can't play this week??? Then we slot Matt Jones into Newton's place.

Something to be said for a left-footed mid at the centre bounce. If anything, his disposal by foot is better than Dom's in recent times, tho' Dom at his best has this amazing ability to find space.

Edited April 29, 2015 by Akum

[Adam The God 29,358]

Really like Newton. Beautifully balanced, strong at the contest, can kick a goal (we need plenty of those) and makes pretty good decisions. Great little pick up for us.

[Adam The God 29,358]

I think a lot of people forget or miss the fact Newton and even Michie I think havent even played 10-15 AFL games. They have slotted in nicely and will only get better as they become more accustomed to the top level.

Yeah, it's these two who I'm really excited about this year. Thought Michie was good at times last year, but was obviously terrific the other night. Hope he can back it up against his old side. I'm expecting another goal from Newton this week too.

Edited April 29, 2015 by AdamFarr

[Adam The God 29,358]

Of course, as soon as I praise someone, they have their worst performance for the season. Ben had an absolute dog of a day against Freo.

Edited May 3, 2015 by AdamFarr

[jumbo returns 6,703]

Of course, as soon as I praise someone they have their worst performance for the season. Ben had an absolute dog of a day against Freo.

Not the only one.

[censored] of a day all round.

[poita 3,874]

Newton's a tough one to read at the moment. He has only played 9 games, but it is his 5th year in the system. As such my expectations for him are far closer to those of Tyson, than a Brayshaw or Salem.

For a player averaging mid-teens possessions, he needs to be contributing defensively as well. His lack of defensive accountability at present is a real concern, and he may need to head to Casey to work on this.

I didn't see him near an opponent at any stage yesterday, which would suggest he was opposed to either Danyle or Clancee Pearce. If that is the case, he was absolutely flogged from start to finish.

[jnrmac 19,890]

Newton's a tough one to read at the moment. He has only played 9 games, but it is his 5th year in the system. As such my expectations for him are far closer to those of Tyson, than a Brayshaw or Salem.

For a player averaging mid-teens possessions, he needs to be contributing defensively as well. His lack of defensive accountability at present is a real concern, and he may need to head to Casey to work on this.

I didn't see him near an opponent at any stage yesterday, which would suggest he was opposed to either Danyle or Clancee Pearce. If that is the case, he was absolutely flogged from start to finish.

If that is right he is flying under the radar. They slaughtered us yesterday