Here's Tom Lewis.

Firstly, I just want to say how proud I am of our boys.

This feeling right now, this is our why for next season.

Mr Sandfield, thanks for hosting today.

It's an amazing attendance.

Lastly, to the Newwood Football Club, well done today.

Well done all season.

you've been tested in every game this season pretty much it's a different pathway to the grand final two and over the weekend against the eagles it it really took until um the last quarter where you kicked away thanks to ash johnson but Do you like that, being faced with adversity? Because this is exactly the challenge you're going to face against Norwood on Sunday.

Yeah, absolutely.

I think you learn more from your losses than you do your wins.

And those challenging games really hold you in good stead for finals footy.

And that prelim, well, the game against Norwood was a really good test.

And the prelim, that was an amazing game.

I reckon it would have been pretty good to watch.

He really is an X Factor now and a nice little cherry on top at the moment.

It really took until the last quarter where you kicked away, thanks to Ash Johnson, but Do you like that, being faced with adversity? Because this is exactly the challenge you're going to face against Norwood on Sunday.

Yeah, absolutely.

I think you learn more from your losses than you do your wins.

And those challenging games really hold you in good stead for finals footy.

And that prelim, well, the game against Norwood was a really good test.

And the prelim, that was an amazing game.

I reckon it would have been pretty good to watch.

He really is an X-factor now and a nice little cherry on top at the moment.

All

right.

Okay, so I'm going to talk a little bit about, you know, what are the minimally invasive options available for this? Because there is, as you all know, like MIS is becoming increasingly used across various foot and ankle pathologies.

And I just thought it'd be interesting to pick a paper that kind of talks a bit about how it's reduced.

So I picked this paper from some friends and colleagues of mine from 2024.

And they basically talk about doing exactly what we've talked about here, which is essentially a form of decompressive chevron osteotomy.

but doing it using minimally invasive techniques.

Tom, what's your experience with MIS MTPJ fusion?

But for you guys who are in London, you know, who's doing Youngswick, and how are you determining which patients are the appropriate person for this?

this?Well, it's interesting.

I'll jump in on this because I'm a really big believer in kind of joint preservation, and I think the Youngswick or the modified Waterman-Green, or whichever kind of option you wanna do is really good.

But like you say, it's the right patients.

Interestingly, in the UK it's not actually that popular either, and it's only really from going across to Europe and speaking to European colleagues where it is much more accepted as a treatment option that, that you can do it.

The thing I would say, the absolute key if you wanna get the best results, is patients who have hallux elevatus or functional hallux limitus.

Like anybody where that first ray is elevated, they, I think, do really well with these shortening and plantarization osteotomies.

when it's a little bit elevated?

Are you playing anywhere near your best yet this year?

Uh, no, to be honest.

We haven't, we haven't...

We've got the process and the method, um, from last season, but we haven't been able to execute, um, how we wanted to.

Um, a few Silly mistakes on field as well.

Uh, like myself, giving away a bloody free kick in front of goal.

Um, has hurt us in the last, uh, mate, five games, losing by under a point.

You've got one flag, one Magarey, so one of each to go, mate.

Mm.

Um, has hurt us in the last, uh, mate, five games, losing by under a point.

Um, and also, to be honest, we haven't really had a consistent team, you know, on the, on-- week to week, um, with, you know, injuries, um, sort of been a bit of a struggle with, you know, Vossy, um, Holty's been in and out, um, Zach Becker, um, you know, myself.

So we just, we haven't found our, um...

Yeah, we haven't really clicked just yet, but hopefully in the tail end of the season we can, we can see the, see the fruits of it.

You've got one flag, one Magarey, so one of each to go, mate.

mate.That would be nice, mate.

That'd be nice.

months after being overlooked then you do the acl that just must have been crushing

yeah yeah it was because i had a few clubs reach out and go look we're going to look at you pretty hard next um next season getting crack some league footy and i was um planning the league trial matches and um yeah as i said i'd come back run a pb2k and was putting up some pretty good numbers in the gym as well and um Yeah, so I had a good opportunity to have another go at it.

And then, yeah, to come away with an ACL was pretty gutting.

Yeah, like you go and you put yourself in your pretty clean cut operator and you do all the right things and then you get an ACL and you're like, bloody hell.

But that's just part of it.

It's the journey.

You can't control it.

Just about won every individual award in the competition, including the treasured McGarry medal and finally got that team success of the 2025 flag, which must have meant a lot to you given what unfolded in 2023 and 2024 for the footy club.

months after being overlooked then you do the acl that just must have been crushing

yeah yeah it was because i had a few clubs reach out and go look we're going to look at you pretty hard next um next season getting crack some league footy and i was um planning the league trial matches and um yeah as i said i'd come back run a pb2k and was putting up some pretty good numbers in the gym as well and um Yeah, so I had a good opportunity to have another go at it.

And then, yeah, to come away with an ACL was pretty gutting.

Yeah, like you go and you put yourself in your pretty clean cut operator and you do all the right things and then you get an ACL and you're like, bloody hell.

But that's just part of it.

It's the journey.

You can't control it.

Just about won every individual award in the competition, including the treasured McGarry medal and finally got that team success of the 2025 flag, which must have meant a lot to you given what unfolded in 2023 and 2024 for the footy club.

I got-

I wish I was a sailor, a bold man-of-war.

Sam's gone away, a bold man-of-war.

I wish I was a sailor, a bold man-of-war.

Sam's gone away, a bold man-of-war.

Pretty work, brave boys.

Pretty work, I say.

[laughs]

When you get your chances, could you just put it through the big sticks?

Ideally, mate.

Easier said than done, but that's the plan.

I think, yeah, as I said, we've got a young team.

We'll showcase a bit of flair, but if we settle those nerves early and, I guess, clean up those first suggestions, you know, the handles outside of stoppage and get good looks inside 50 and obviously take them when you have the opportunities.

I think that's probably where we went wrong.

We didn't take the opportunities when we had them and we took probably a good quarter and a half to settle the nerves in the Victorian game.

What about Marty taking over the state team? You know him very well, but some of the other guys like that defensive mindset, especially in the mids?

When you get your chances, could you just put it through the big sticks?

Ideally, mate.

E-easier said than done, but that's the plan.

No, I think, yeah, as I said, the...

We've got a young team.

We'll showcase a bit of flair, but if we, you know, we settle those nerves early and I guess clean up those first possessions, you know, the handles outside of stoppage and, um, get good looks inside fifty and obviously take them when you have the opportunities.

Um, I think that's probably where we went wrong.

Uh, what about Marty, um, taking over the state team? You know him very well, but, uh, some of the other guys like that defensive mindset, especially in the mids?