IT PROBABLY comes as no surprise that George Hewett can’t wait to play alongside a certain teammate once again in 2026.

While attention naturally turned to Carlton’s five acquisitions over the last fortnight in the Continental Tyres AFL Trade Period, there’s a few who everyone associated with Carlton would love to see much more often than they did over the course of the 2025 season.

When it comes to old mate Nic Newman, the 2025 John Nicholls Medallist can’t wait to see the 2023 and 2024 runner-up back out there in the Navy Blue.

After a ruptured patella in January, Newman was in full training late in the campaign, but the final decision was made in July that the best course of action was for Newman to build up his strength and conditioning heading into the off-season.

As far as Hewett is concerned, Newman is very much a ‘new recruit’ for the upcoming campaign, in a month where the duo have welcomed fellow former Swans-turned-Blues, Ollie Florent and Will Hayward.

“We probably missed that real hard edge last year, not taking anything from the opposition - in hindsight, we lacked a little bit of that,” Hewett said.

“‘Newy’ brings that every week, some intimidation with his physicality and reading of the play.”