Tara Murray
Aliesha Newman is back for a second stint at Williamstown in the Victorian Football League Women’s competition.
After coming off a year which has included two AFLW seasons with two different clubs and a VFLW thrown in the middle, Newman has now started to look ahead to next year.
She said the decision to join the Seagulls for 2023 was an early one.
“I’ve been here before in 2019 and it’s nice to be back,” she said. “I’ve been playing in Sydney in the AFLW and I’ve come back home and still wanted to be involved at VFLW level.
“It’s a standalone club so there is no conflict of interest which is nice. It’s not too far from where I live either.”
Newman said while it can be busy juggling both AFLW and VFLW at times, it’s something that she enjoys. She said it gives her the opportunity to work on some things in her game to take into the next AFLW season.
Newman has already made her way down to Seagulls training to meet her teammates and coach.
She said she’s looking forward to it.
“I’ll take it slow pre-Christmas and then ramp it up,” she said.
“I’m always looking to develop my leadership and with a young side as well at Willy it will be good.”
Newman said it had been a rollercoaster of a year, with three football seasons in a short period of time.
She played in AFLW with Collingwood playing seven games, before playing for the Magpies in the VFLW season. Newman joined new AFLW side the Sydney Swans for season seven, playing all but one game.
“I wouldn’t change it for the world,” Newman said. “It’s definitely had its challenges moving states, but I loved every minute at Sydney.
“I’ve loved being part of the group of girls and I’m looking forward to what we can create in the next couple of years.
“I had a fractured back so I started off a bit slow. The second half was a lot better and I want to look to build on that and continue the way I was going in the back half of the season.”
New Williamstown coach Liam Cavanagh said he was elated by the signing of Newman. The two have had many discussions already about the season and how Newman can help the group.
“So we don’t just have Aliesha for a few games, we are going to be able to work with her across pre-season and she can help show our girls what is required to become an established AFLW talent,” he said.
Newman will be joined back at the Seagulls by her Sydney Swans teammate Bridie Kennedy.
Kennedy, who was a star for the Seagulls last winter, showed she had exactly what it takes to grind out solid performance’s week in, week out earning her second stint in the AFLW/
The speedster was a regular fixture in the Swans line-up, showing that she can play anywhere around the ground due to her elite run and carry, along with being able to find the footy regularly.
