Meet your men’s leadership group

Defender Max Williams admits it took him longer than he would have liked to switch from his relaxed 2020 state back into footy mode. In between preseason sessions, Williams says he was enjoying his 2020 outlets of fishing, surfing, and having a beer, at the expense of footy, until a chat with Newman. “‘Newy’ said ‘why don’t you put your fishing and stuff aside and do it when you’re 30?’” “You can’t play footy when you’re 30 so why don’t you just be a good player for us and be a good Dolphin and not just do it 50% because you’re just wasting your time,” Williams recalls. “I can’t tell you how big of a change it made to my motivation.” It’s one example of the skipper being like “the dad of the group” as Williams puts it, but entering his third season as captain, Newman believes he has struck a fine balance. “Leadership was thrust upon me and I learnt on the fly but it’s something I’ve become really passionate about,” Newman said. “During downtime I had a lot of time to read up and put my head in some books and research some stuff online and there’s some great info out there and amazing leaders in all facets of life. “I’ve learnt a lot in the last couple of years especially in the year off footy, just working on my own leadership and also growing up a little bit. “Naturally in my first year of leadership I probably took on a bit too much and I had a lot of free time. “Whereas I’ve got a busy and demanding job now with my students and we were able to add some good leaders to the footy club so it’s a perfect opportunity to start delegating roles. “I want to encourage others to drive those leadership qualities.” The diversity of voices contributing to discussions has been a pleasing theme for Newman – and a common observation among the squad. “The huge difference from two years ago is a lot more boys are wanting to say stuff and actually know what they’re talking about now which is a credit to the coaching staff with the game-plan starting to really sink in.