IN ROOKIE Richard Newell, the Brisbane Lions may have their hands on one of the best aerobic tanks in the competition.
Newell was officially added to the Lions' list at Tuesday's NAB AFL Rookie Draft with pick No.57, but has trained with the club for 12 months through its NSW Scholarship program.
The 18-year-old from Sydney comes from a running background and already has one club record in his back pocket, smashing triple-premiership player Shaun Hart's 3km time trial mark.
Hart ran 9m 35s, but in pouring rain at the University of Queensland on Saturday morning, Newell smashed that by 14 seconds.
He comes from a track and field background, winning national medals in primary school for the 800 metres, continuing to shine at state level during secondary school.
Newell's personal bests would be the envy of many.
For 400m he has run 49.2secs - Cathy Freeman ran 49.1 to win gold at the 2000 Olympics - while for 800m he has a slick 1m54s to his name.
Newell said the most pleasing thing about getting Hart's record was that in his 12 months at the Lions, he had been able to add some size to his frame yet maintain his aerobic level.
"You can't run around as a 35kg person and be hard at the ball, so it's good that I was able to put on a couple of kilos and still run well," Newell, who now weighs 82kg, said.
"I've always enjoyed athletics and racing the clock. That was always a challenge for me, just knowing you could do better. It was a very tough sport to be a part of and it really has helped my AFL and is a great asset to have."
Newell is more than just an aerobic machine though, and has been courted by the Lions since the age of 15, when they first put him on scholarship.
He moved to Brisbane almost 12 months ago after completing his HSC and mixed a full season at reserves level and playing with the Queensland under-18 team with three subjects a semester at university.
His commitment to the club was shown recently, when stuck in traffic and running late, Newell parked in a side street and ran the last 4km to training to ensure he wasn't late.
While making his name as a run-with player, Lions' national talent manager Rob Kerr also praised other parts of his game.
"He's a hard competitor who likes to get in first at the contest," Kerr said. "If you want someone who is the prototype of the modern footballer in terms of being able to run, then Richard is your man."
With his fitness and toughness not in question, Newell is desperate to improve his skills to give himself a chance of playing senior footy.
"My focus in the next 12 months has to revolve around skills. I just need to get consistent. Sometimes I can be really hot, but sometimes I'm not, so I have to work on my technique," he said.
"The amount of rookies that played with the Lions last year was unbelievable. If I can play well in the reserves and know my role, know the structures and have that in place, anything is possible."
Michael Whiting covers Brisbane Lions news for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @mike_whiting
Image courtesy of Michael Jorgensen and lions.com.au
