Player Jules Newman

[mt.wellington]

Jules Newman

​

Jules Newman (born 23 February 1989) is a New Zealand rugby league footballer who played for the New Zealand Warriors in the NRL Women's Premiership.

Primarily a centre, she is a New Zealand and New Zealand 9s representative.

Born in Mosgiel, Newman was a long time North Harbour representative in rugby union, winning the Farah Palmer Cup Player of the Year in 2018.

In 2019, Newman switched to rugby league and began playing for the Mount Albert Lions in the Auckland Rugby League.

In June 2019, she was named in the New Zealand squad for their mid-season Test against Samoa but did not play. On 10 July 2019, she signed with the New Zealand Warriors NRL Women's Premiership team. In Round 1 of the 2019 NRL Women's season, she made her debut for the Warriors in a 16–12 win over the Sydney Roosters.

In October 2019, she was a member of New Zealand's 2019 Rugby League World Cup 9s-winning squad. On 25 October 2019, she made her Test debut for New Zealand, starting at centre in a 8–28 loss to Australia.

 

[mt.wellington]

From zero to hero: How Warriors Womens' player Jules Newman mastered rugby league in just three months​

By Michael Burgess
10 Aug, 2019 06:30 PM


Jules Newman during Kiwi Ferns training. Photo / Photosport

Talk about a steep learning curve.

Four months ago Jules Newman had never played a game of rugby league – but next month she will be part of the Warriors' Women's team in the second season of the NRLW.

Her rise has been swift, sometimes that doesn't tend to happen these days in elite sport, with emphasis placed on years of incremental learning and skill development, and especially not for a 30-year-old.

"It's unbelievable," said Newman. "I'm continually having to pinch myself, as clichéd as it sounds. I'm literally three months into league and the fact that I am here is amazing."

Newman came from a long rugby background; she was a North Harbour representative and had been in the mix for a Black Ferns spot, but that doesn't mean the transition was straightforward, as previous cross code converts have shown.

"People don't think there is too much difference, but in terms of positional play there is a huge difference," explained Newman. "I'm trying to get comfortable being uncomfortable and to learn at sprint. And I'm always taking heaps of notes, I'm a big note taker."

Newman's diversion into league started with a chance conversation with harbour sevens teammate and long time Kiwi Fern Georgia Hale last December, during a van trip to the rugby sevens nationals in Tauranga.

"She told me about the Warriors' open trial and said 'would you like to have a crack?'," said Newman. "I laughed at her and said 'I don't know how to play league or what to do'. But she encouraged me to come down and see how it goes. I guess she planted the seed."

So Newman turned up, along with 60 other hopefuls, to Mt Smart Stadium in mid-February, and made an immediate, if unusual impression.

"She was very green," recalled Warriors coach Luisa Aviaki. "She didn't even know how to play the ball. But you could tell she was an athlete. I wasn't sure what sports she had played but she was very professional, keen to listen and learn. She did well in our fitness testing so stood out straight away."

For her part Newman had arrived with no expectations, but realised it would be a trip into the unknown.
"We had to do a ruck play and I didn't know what that was, because rucks are a different thing in union," said Newman. "Later Morgs (assistant coach Justin Morgan) pulled me aside. He said 'Jules, you need to go back to marker', I said I don't what a bloody marker is."


Jules Newman of the Warriors Women. Photo / Photosport

The coaches invited her back for the second open trial, then made her aware she was on their radar.

Newman decided to take the plunge, joining the Mt Albert club for the Auckland Women's competition.

She made an impact, and was selected for the Kiwis Ferns squad for the match with Fetu Samoa in June. During that camp she was offered a spot with the Warriors.

"I was pretty emotional," said Newman. "At the same time I was trying to ride the wave with the Kiwi Ferns … I didn't even realise I was going to make that squad so it was a lot of emotion to try and juggle."

At that stage she decided to commit fully to the 13-a side code.

"My whole family were like, 'are you sure this is what you want to do?' But I decided I could always go back to rugby, I may not get back into the Black Ferns environment, but I couldn't turn down this opportunity. But my family were a bit shocked at first."

Newman, who works as an cultural strategist for an IT company, credits her rise to a strong network, paying particular tribute to club coach Victor Heke ("one of my biggest mentors") and her Mt Albert teammates.

The NRLW kicks off in mid-September, with the Warriors pitted against the Broncos, Dragons and Roosters.

"I'm still getting to know the girls, still learning the terminology but the decision was for me to grow as a person, I have to do this," said Newman. "And my family and friends know that when I set my mind to something, I'll give it 120 per cent."

How Warriors Women's player mastered league in just three months

Zero to hero: Jules Newman only played her first game of rugby league three months ago.

www.nzherald.co.nz

 

[mt.wellington]

Jules Newman riding rugby league wave with Warriors after rapid rise​

Marvin France
August 11, 2019 •05:00am

Jules Newman during Kiwi Ferns training ahead of the test against Samoa in June.BRETT PHIBBS / PHOTOSPORT

At the start of the year, Jules Newman - a self-described "true blue rugby union girl" - knew next to nothing about rugby league.

"I knew that you had to roll the ball between your legs," the Mosgiel-born centre told Stuff, "but I didn't know the ball had to touch your foot".

Markers? That was a foreign concept, too, while going back 10 metres on defence was another unfamiliar rule to brush up on.

Yet in the space of just three months, Newman drastically upskilled to the point where she's gone from rugby league novice to Kiwi Ferns selection and now finds herself preparing for the NRL Women's Premiership with the Warriors.

Player of the year for North Harbour in the Farah Palmer Cup last season, Newman is clearly a talented athlete and her union background would have provided a solid base to build from.

But given it was only several months ago since making the switch, it doesn't make her rapid rise any less impressive.

Jules Newman has been selected for the Warriors in only her first year of playing rugby league.DAVID ROWLAND / PHOTOSPORT

"It's quite nerve-racking when you've literally just come in and you've gone from zero to 100 quite quickly," Newman said. "But the learnings that I've got from Mt Albert and from the girls that I play with has been phenomenal.

"At the moment I'm just trying to embrace it and ride the wave."

Newman, 30, has Warriors and Kiwi Ferns teammate Georgia Hale to thank for encouraging her to give rugby league a go.

After teaming up for North Harbour at the sevens nationals last year, Hale suggested she head along to the Warriors open trial.

While apprehensive at first, a curiosity to see if her skills were transferable and the prospect of a new challenge eventually saw Newman take the plunge.

With each trial she progressed to the next stage. And although raw, Newman left an immediate impression on Warriors coach Luisa Avaiki.

"The thing that stood out about her was her work ethic," Avaiki said. "She's very coachable and very professional with her attitude.

"From the get-go when she turned up and wanted to trial you could just see she was a real athlete who sets high standards for herself and just doesn't give up."

With Newman on the Warriors radar, the next step in the process was to take part in the Auckland club competition with Mt Albert.

It was her time with the Lions, under coach Victor Heke, which Newman credits for really accelerating her league education.

Jules Newman scores a try for North Harbour during last year's Farah Palmer Cup.RENEE MCKAY / GETTY IMAGES

She proved to be a fast learner, earning a surprise call-up to the Kiwi Ferns squad for the June test against Samoa before the Warriors came calling last month.

While there are plenty of similarities between league and union, Newman insists making the transition was far from straightforward.


"I've been playing rugby union since I was five. I caught a few games of the Warriors but, to be honest, I didn't know anything about rugby league," she said.

"Just the styles of play, the terminology, it's really different. As a centre in union the lines are different that you run. I'm having to learn like a new kid would have to learn to play a sport, but having to learn at sprint pace."

Entering it's second season, the NRLW is a four-team competition - featuring the Warriors, Roosters, Dragons and Broncos - that runs alongside the NRL finals series in September.

The women's game is a major growth area for rugby league and there are more opportunities emerging for those new to the sport, even at the elite level.

"For some of the girls, their entry point to rugby league is here (at the Warriors) because they come from other sports," said Avaiki, who last month was appointed as head of women's rugby league at the NZRL. "So we just can't assume that they know just the basic rules."

Newman works as a cultural strategist for an IT firm, where she analyses user behaviours and how to better implement technology within organisations.

Juggling her on and off-the-field commitments comes with its challenges. But she feels fortunate to be in this position and is determined to give back through her performances.

"I work full-time and train full-time like most of the girls, we live a really busy lifestyle. But when you want to succeed at something you make it work so I'm lucky that I've got family and friends that are able to help me," Newman said.

"'Lui' (Avaiki) has taken a big risk taking me on board so I really want to do her proud. The fact is that a lot of girls have fought for this position so I have a big responsibility to the jersey that I'm given, that I do it with honour and execute my role the best I can."

Stuff

www.stuff.co.nz