Newman wants finals
19/11/2008 1:07 PM
at Punt Road and indeed his first nine matches with the club in 2002 all resulted in defeats but he has also had to fight back from a career threatening broken leg in 2006.
Newman admits that fateful day at the MCG against Collingwood crossed his mind when told of his appointment.
"I thought about that day and I would never have imagined then that this could happen," he said.
"If someone had said at the start of my career eight years ago that I would be captaining the Richmond Football Club I would have laughed so it's a huge step and a role I am not taking lightly."
Richmond coach Terry Wallace said Newman was the unanimous choice of the players, the coaches, the management team and the board to take over as captain from Johnson which was why the club was able to act so quickly in naming a new skipper.
"We think Chris sets the example of how the game should be played and how we want the game to be played at the Richmond Football Club," Wallace said.
"He is hard nosed, he has a strong approach and he will always put his head over the football and when it's pressure time in games you can always rely on Chris to be doing the right thing."