Australian Football

Nicknamed 'Sam', John Newman was a prodigiously talented ruckman who inherited Graham 'Polly' Farmer's mantle at Geelong. Like Farmer, he was adept at using his body to attain the optimum position in ruck contests, and also like Farmer, he was a master of creative handball. He made his VFL debut in 1964 and four years later, despite having sustained a serious kidney injury the previous year, he won the first of two club best and fairest awards. In 1969, he achieved All Australian selection after the Adelaide carnival. 

Later in his career, after he was beset by recurrent ankle problems, he moved from the ruck to centre half forward with considerable success. Newman captained the Cats in 1974 and 1975, and represented the VFL on eight occasions. He retired in 1980 after 300 VFL games and 110 goals.  

After his retirement, Newman became a prominent, and often controversial, media figure, firstly on Channel 7's World of Sport football panel, and later as a radio commentator and panel member of Channel 9's long-running Footy Show. In 2001, 'Sam' Newman was included in Geelong's official 'Team of the Twentieth Century'.

Author - John Devaney, with updates by Andrew Gigacz