Warrior Newman climbs
This story was originally published on Locker Room at Newsroom.co.nz, and is republished with permission.
Three weeks after major knee surgery, the average athlete may be able to bend their knee a little. Kiwi Fern Jules Newman, on the other hand, was on her way up Mount Maunganui – even though her knee was ‘‘the size of a bowling ball’’.
But don’t be concerned. Her trek to the top of Mauao in February was on the backs of her New Zealand Warriors team-mates. And they did it to let her know she wasn’t alone in her rehabilitation journey.
Newman had surgery on the knee in January after rupturing her anterior cruciate ligament – for a fifth time – in a tackle playing rugby sevens in the 2019 off-season. Instead of staying home and preparing to test how far she could move the knee, Newman was travelling around the North Island as part of the Warriors’ roadshow with a group of players including Georgia Hale, Krystal Rota and Lorina Papali’i.
Not wanting to leave the 73kg centre on her own at the base of the Mount, Hale – the Young New Zealander of the Year – and league legend Papali’i insisted on carrying Newman up with them.
Newman was worried the activity could cause further damage to the knee – or even worse, injure her team-mates. So she resisted the offer at first. But Hale and Papali’i persisted.
‘‘My knee was the size of a bowling ball at the time, but they were adamant on carrying me. Georgia said I needed to know that I wasn’t on my own throughout this rehab journey,’’ Newman says.
‘‘By lifting me up and down that bloody mountain, it was their way of showing that they were supporting me every step of the way.’’
It wasn’t just the path providing twists and turns up to the summit.
‘‘It got to the point where they were starting to bicker about whose turn it was to carry me because they felt the other was holding me for too long,’’ laughed 31-year-old Newman, who only switched from rugby union to league early last year.
To add to the comedic moment, Hale piped up just before reaching the picturesque mountain top that she always dreamt of holding someone in a fireman’s carry.
‘‘I just said ‘Honestly whatever floats your boat mate. At this stage we can do whatever you want’,’’ says Newman.
And so, from a piggy-back position, Hale swung Newman over her shoulders and hauled her that way until they reached the top. All up, the adventure took just over 45 minutes.
‘‘It was insane,’’ Newman laughs. ‘‘It just blew me away, even to this day. If you’re piggybacking a kid, they eventually get heavy, and then there’s me – a full-grown adult being deadweight on my team-mates’ backs.’’
After that unforgettable expedition, there was one more roadshow stop in Whitianga, before Newman – who’s also a bit of a business entrepreneur – could continue her rehab journey back in Auckland.
Newman took the league world by storm last year.
The 2018 North Harbour player of the year in rugby’s Farah Palmer Cup competition decided to leave the comfort of rugby and the Black Ferns environment for a shot at league.
It proved to be just the shift she needed.
Hale had got in her ear on a van trip to the 2018 national sevens tournament in Tauranga, encouraging her to come and have a go at an open trial for the Warriors women’s squad for the second season of the NRLW competition.
Newman turned up, and her athleticism and professionalism impressed the Warriors selectors who recalled her for another two sessions. Her first real league game was the Warriors’ opening game of the 2019 NRLW season – a win over the Sydney Roosters.
Newman showed enough determination and skill to secure a contract with the New Zealand franchise, and was then selected for the Kiwi Ferns (making her test debut against Australia’s Jillaroos in October).
‘‘I was scared and excited on debut because I honestly didn’t know what I was doing. My rugby league journey went from zero to 100 real quick, so I just had to back myself,’’ she says.
As speedily as she made an impact on the league field, the reality of another big injury halted her momentum.
Her ruptured ACL was a major roadblock after a massive debut year, which ended on a high with the Kiwi Ferns beating Australia for the inaugural World Cup nines title.