Sam Walsh (footballer)

Samuel Peter Walsh (born 2 July 2000) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was awarded the 2019 NAB Rising Star Award. He was drafted by Carlton with their first selection which was also the first overall in the 2018 national draft.[6]

Sam Walsh
Walsh as AFL Rising Star in the 2019 AFL Grand Final Parade
Personal information
Full name Samuel Peter Walsh
Nickname(s) Worpa, Walshy
Date of birth (2000-07-02) 2 July 2000
Place of birth Tarneit, Victoria
Original team(s) Geelong Falcons (TAC Cup)[1]/St Joseph’s(VIC)/Nightcliff(NT)
Draft No. 1, 2018 national draft
Debut 21 March 2019, Carlton vs. Richmond, at MCG
Height 181 cm (5 ft 11 in)[2]
Weight 83 kg (183 lb)[2]
Position(s) Midfielder[3][4][5]
Club information
Current club Carlton
Number 18
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2019– Carlton 98 (37)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of semi finals, 2023.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Early life

Walsh spent his early years in the Victorian town of Cobden and participated in the local Auskick at Cobden Bombers, where his father coached the senior teams.[7] His family later moved to Darwin, where he would play 12 months a year of football for Nightcliff Tigers in conditions different to anything he had experienced before. He credits this experience for his development as a footballer, he was also selected to represent Northern Territory at under 12 level.[8]

His family returned to Victoria ahead of his secondary schooling, settling in Ocean Grove. Walsh played his junior football for St Joseph’s Football Club and attended St Joseph’s College in Geelong, before playing under-18s football with the Geelong Falcons, in the then-named TAC Cup.[9] He impressed massively and was touted as a sure-fire number 1 draft pick.[10][11] Sam Walsh averaged an astounding 32 disposals a game as their co-captain, which bolstered his draft stock.[12] Labelled as the 'best pure midfielder in the draft', Walsh also played in the NAB Under 18 Championships, where he represented Vic Country as captain. He amassed an average of 29 disposals in the tournament, and also won the Larke Medal as the best player in the competition.[12]

AFL career

At the 2018 National Draft, Walsh was drafted number 1 by the Carlton Football Club. This was not seen as a surprise to many, who had expected him to be a lock for the first pick.[13] Walsh was given the number 18 and impressed many during pre-season.[14][15][16] Sam made his debut in Round 1 of the 2019 AFL season against Richmond at the MCG, where he finished with 24 disposals.[17][18][19] He kicked his first goal against Sydney in round 3.[20]

Walsh earned an AFL Rising Star nomination in Round 4, following Carlton's two point loss to Gold Coast, after collecting 28 possessions (13 contested), seven clearances, six tackles and a goal.[21] He also earned a contract extension with the Blues, keeping him at the club until 2022.[22][23] Sam was awarded with the 2019 AFL rising star.

After a promising season in 2020, which culminated in his finishing second in the Carlton Best and Fairest, Walsh exploded in season 2021, garnering his maiden All Australian selection, his first John Nicholls Medal as the Carlton Football Club Best and Fairest, and finishing fourth in the Brownlow Medal.

In 2020, despite having only had a short career at that point, he was named in the St Joseph’s College team of champions, recognising the best VFL/AFL players to have attended the school.[24]

In February 2022, Walsh signed a 4 year extension to stay with the Blues until at least the end of 2026.

Statistics
'Statistics are correct to the end of Round 23 2021.[25]
Legend
  G  
 Goals
  K  
 Kicks
  D  
 Disposals 
  T  
 Tackles
  B  
 Behinds 
  H  
 Handballs 
  M  
 Marks
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game) Votes
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2019 Carlton 1822613297257554113690.30.613.511.725.25.13.16
2020[lower-alpha 1] Carlton 18178419315634973470.50.211.39.220.54.32.88
2021 Carlton 18221262983586561271000.60.313.616.329.85.84.630
Career 61 26 23 788 313 1559 313 216 0.4 0.4 12.9 12.6 25.6 5.1 3.5 44
  1. The 2020 season was played with 17 home-and-away matches per team (down from 22) and 16-minute quarters with time on (down from 20-minute quarters with time on) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

References
  1. "Sam Walsh Archives". Aussie Rules Draft Central. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  2. "Sam Walsh". carltonfc.com.au. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  3. "Tomorrow's Heroes: Will this midfield gun be the No.1 pick?". afl.com.au. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  4. "Heraldsun.com.au | Subscribe to the Herald Sun for exclusive stories". myaccount.news.com.au. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  5. "Outline - Read & annotate without distractions". outline.com. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  6. "No.1 Blue eager to be part of Carlton's comeback". The Age. Fairfax Media. 23 November 2018. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  7. deanandrews (19 October 2021). "Sam Walsh's ascent to win the John Nicholls Medal in his third AFL season". Milestones and misses. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  8. "Walsh's Darwinian evolution to No.1 draft favouritism". amp.theage.com.au. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  9. "Walsh already a winner with Carlton". timesnewsgroup.com.au. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  10. "Tomorrow's Heroes: Will this midfield gun be the No.1 pick?". afl.com.au. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  11. "Why Carlton selected Sam Walsh with first pick". afl.com.au. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  12. "Pick 1: Sam Walsh". carltonfc.com.au. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  13. "AFL Draft 2018, AFL Draft, Sam Walsh, number one pick, Jack Lukosius, No. 1". Fox Sports. 2 July 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
  14. Gleeson, Michael (21 February 2019). "Walsh offers ray of hope to Carlton faithful". The Age. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
  15. "AFL, Carlton, Patrick Cripps, Sam Walsh, No. 1 pick, AFL Draft 2018, Carlton vs Richmond". Fox Sports. 15 March 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
  16. "AFL 2019: Sam Walsh stars in Carlton JLT win over Essendon". www.news.com.au. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
  17. "AFL 2019: Richmond defeat Carlton, Alex Rance injury, ACL, Sam Walsh". www.news.com.au. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  18. "AFL 2019 season: Carlton vs Richmond, positive signs, Carlton improvement, Sam Walsh, Nic Newman, Harry McKay". Fox Sports. 22 March 2019. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  19. "A surreal debut for Walsh". carltonfc.com.au. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  20. R3 | Walsh kicks his first goal - carltonfc.com.au, retrieved 8 April 2019
  21. Collins, Ben (15 April 2019). "The advice that helped Blues' latest Rising Star be an instant hit". afl.com.au. Telstra Media. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  22. "AFL 2019: Sam Walsh contract extension, Carlton No.1 draft pick new deal, contract details | FOX SPORTS". www.foxsports.com.au. 17 April 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  23. "Sam Walsh inks fresh AFL contract with Carlton". amp.theage.com.au. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  24. "Four skippers, eight All-Australians, one Brownlow ... one school". www.afl.com.au. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  25. "Sam Walsh". AFLTables. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
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