Utility Gabby Newton has slotted into Fremantle’s side seamlessly both on and off the field, with the young gun able to pinpoint the moment she realised the Club felt like home and when her teammates and football support staff became her family.
Making the move from Melbourne to Perth in January, Newton was traded to Fremantle from the Western Bulldogs in December last year.
The 23-year-old spoke on the Club’s Rollers & The Rockers Podcast last week, touching on her transition to Fremantle and how a back injury shaped her first few months.
“One of the most important things to me as a person is my connections with others,” Newton told the podcast.
“It was actually a real moment of ‘wow, these girls are incredible and I'm going to do everything I can to be out there, so I can push myself hopefully as much as they're pushing each other,’ because it was genuinely really inspiring to see and then also something that was really important to me.”
Newton spoke about the warm welcome she received when she touched down in Perth earlier in the year, and how the Club’s values align with her own.
“A big part of why I was so excited to come to the Club was the trademark and the anchor, and what that means not only to the playing group but the staff as a whole,” Newton said.
“I think it's incredibly powerful and very special, but then it's like – words can only mean so much and actions are what really matter.
“To see those actions when I got here, (with) so many people reaching out, (and) trying to make me feel welcome.
“So many girls reached out and we even went on a trip down south as soon as I got here – little things like that just made me feel so welcome.
“Then, in terms of staff at the Club, the community team and just everybody upstairs was so welcoming as well.
“That was sort of a moment of just this feels like home because I've given up a lot to be here in terms of time spent with my family who are really important to me and my friends, but that was a moment of, this is my family as well and these are going to be the important people in my life while I'm living here.”
Having built relationships with both Senior Coach Lisa Webb and Head of AFLW Claire Heffernan during her time at the Bulldogs, Newton expressed how important they have been to her settling in.
“No words will justify how much they both (Lisa Webb and Claire Heffernan) mean to me and how much they've done for me,” Newton said.
“I lived with our Head of Football, Claire Heffernan for a while, and if anybody doesn't know, Heff is the most incredible chef, so I was eating like an absolute queen the first month and a half I was here.
“Heff was actually my PDM (Player Development Manager) at the Bulldogs for a few seasons and in terms of the off-field stuff, she was there when I was injured, so she was a massive support for me.
“Webby came in at a really interesting point with our group at Bulldogs, and we had made finals with her as an Assistant Coach, and I really enjoyed just talking to her about the game.
“The way she goes about it, bringing her family in, it really emphasises that connection.
“It's been an incredible eight months – I can't believe it's literally flown by (and I’m) so incredibly grateful and just happy to be here.”
