Michael Newton (born 27 April 1987) is an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er who played for

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...

(AFL) and the

Norwood Football Club Norwood Football Club, nicknamed the Redlegs, is an Australian rules football club competing in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) in the state of South Australia. Its home ground is Coopers Stadium (Norwood Oval), which is ...

in the

SANFL The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport. Originally formed as the ...

Career

Originally from Whorouly, Newton was taken at pick 43 in the 2004 AFL Draft. He was given plenty of time to mature in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

at the

Sandringham Football Club The Sandringham Football Club, nicknamed The Zebras, is an Australian rules football club based in Melbourne which was formed in 1929 and plays in the Victorian Football League (VFL) which was formerly called the Victorian Football Association ...

where he had kicked big bags of goals on a number of occasions and before debuting for the Demons in 2007 in Round 13 in

Neale Daniher Neale Francis Daniher (born 15 February 1961) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was later the coach of the Melbourne Football Club between 1998 and 20 ...

's final game as coach. With a knee injury to

David Neitz David Neitz (born 22 January 1975), is a retired Australian rules footballer. The strongly built centre half back who became a full forward was the longest-serving captain in the history of the Melbourne Football Club and the first Melbourne ...

, Newton was required to be a stand in

full forward Full-forward is a position in Australian rules football and Gaelic football with a key focus on kicking goals. The Coleman Medal is awarded to the player, often a full-forward, who has kicked the most goals in an Australian Football League seaso ...

and subsequently played successive games, kicking a goal in his first game and scoring an impressive three goals against Carlton. Having an impressive debut season, he took the 2007 Mark of the year, marking high above a pack, resting on David Neitz's head. Quickly gathering a cult following amongst Demons fans due to his high-marking, Newton now receives shouts of 'Juice' upon every disposal. His nickname was influenced by 1970s American pop and country singer

Juice Newton Judith Kay "Juice" Newton (born February 18, 1952) is an American pop and country singer, songwriter, and musician. Newton has received five Grammy Award nominations in the Pop and Country Best Female Vocalist categorieswinning once in 1983as well ...

, who also provided the same nickname for former Melbourne player

Leigh Newton Leigh Newton (born 25 March 1976) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A ruckman, Newton played 13 matches for Melbourne in his first season at the club, ...

during his brief career in 1997. Newton's

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

season was dominated by a knee injury. After kicking one goal in round 1 against

Hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...

, Newton was dropped to the VFL to play for Melbourne's previously affiliated club,

Sandringham Sandringham can refer to: Places * Sandringham, New South Wales, Australia * Sandringham, Queensland, Australia * Sandringham, Victoria, Australia **Sandringham railway line **Sandringham railway station **Electoral district of Sandringham * Sand ...

, which is where he picked up the injury. Newton returned for Melbourne in the AFL late in the 2008 season and was in and out in 2009, although after being dropped to the VFL, Newton responded by booting 5 goals for

Casey Scorpions The Casey Football Club, nicknamed the "Demons" and formerly the "Scorpions", is an Australian rules football club based in Cranbourne East, Victoria. The club, which was known until 2005 as the Springvale Football Club and the Casey Scorpions ( ...

. Newton managed five games in

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

for 60 disposals and kicked six goals. He then played only four games in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

. Newton was delisted by Melbourne at the end of the 2011 season. Newton played for Norwood in the SANFL from 2012-2015. He played 8 league games in 2012 before rupturing his ACL, requiring a full knee reconstruction, in which he missed out on playing in Norwood's Premiership win over West Adelaide. Newton enjoyed a stellar 2014 season, proving to be a dangerous option up forward, booting 57 goals for the season. He was a part of the 2014 premiership team, which was the third premiership in a row for the Redlegs. Newton now plays for Wangaratta Magpies Football Club in the Ovens and Murray Football Netball League. He kicked eight goals in the 2017 senior football grand final to defeat Albury Tigers by 21 points and was awarded the Did Simpson Medal for best on ground.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Newton, Michael 1987 births Living people Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Melbourne Football Club players Sandringham Football Club players Murray Bushrangers players Norwood Football Club players Casey Demons players Waratah Football Club players Wangaratta Football Club players