NIC Newman jokes that he saw a bit of himself in Matthew Carroll when the youngster first stepped through the doors of IKON Park at the end of 2023.
Which bit, exactly?
“He was one of the furthest away from playing AFL that I’ve seen. I remember him coming in and being like ‘this kid has got a long way to go’… I may know of a left-footed half-back flanker that had a bit to learn.
“Part of me was like ‘I know what that’s like, I’ve been there’. He has learned much quicker than I did to be fair!”
Fast forward to the end of the 2025 campaign, and the very same Matthew Carroll ended the season as the AFL’s final Telstra Rising Star nominee for 2025, joining teammates Cooper Lord and Ashton Moir in the process.
For a player who was delisted without a game after a first season that was ravaged by injury, it’s been quite the year for Carroll, who only returned to Carlton’s list at the end of January as a supplemental selection period signing.
Putting himself in the best possible position to get picked up with a summer that turned heads, Newman spoke of how happy he was to see Carroll get the plaudits he deserved - particularly in a year where Newman himself had to watch him from the sidelines.
“I don’t want to pump him up too much, but I was pretty proud of him.
“He exceeded all expectations. I think after the pre-season he had, we all thought he could have an impact at some stage, but to play 17 games and top that off with a Rising Star nomination for him, it’s been a pretty awesome year for him.
“Coming from the SSP where he wasn’t even sure if he was going to be on the list, it’s a pretty cool story. It’s a great launch pad for hopefully the next decade as a half-back for the Navy Blues.”
Tongue-in-cheek, Newman did mention that the veteran would compete with the rookie to “get a spot next year”, but couldn’t help but hide his delight when talking about Carroll and Lachie Cowan getting significant game time together to end the season.
After missing all of 2025 (and therefore not playing a single game with Carroll yet), Newman had his sights set on an early milestone next year… even if he wants a certain tag to be thrown by the wayside.
“It’d be pretty awesome if I could maybe run out in Round 1 next year with those two boys, that’d be pretty cool.
“I’m sick of them being called my sons, I don’t want to be associated with them. I’ve got a daughter and I’m much more suited to being a girl dad.”
In a recent to-be-released interview with Carlton Media, Carlton co-vice captain Jacob Weitering lauded the newest Rising Star nominee’s impact on the field - but also cited a famous Channel 7 hosted package with one Brett Kirk when talking about Carroll.
Newman, unsurprisingly, was in full agreement.
“‘Weiters’ channeling Brett Kirk and calling him a unique individual - there are no other Jeffs in the world, I’ll tell you that right now.
“He’s almost indescribable. He’s just a unit, I don’t even know what to say, there’s just something about him. He’s loveable but you also just want to punch him sometimes.
“Even just a few weeks ago, he fell over in one of our backs meetings - just fully fell over. But then he can go out there and do some special things on the footy field. How does that even happen?”
