Walsh hunting 2024 redemption after Blues’ heartbreaking 2023 preliminary final loss

Sam Walsh watched the 2023 grand final from Tokyo. He wants to play in 2024’s decider. The Blues gun chats to Scott Gullan about his feelings watching Collingwood clinch the AFL’s holy grail.

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA - September 23, 2023. AFL . Sam Walsh of the Blues looks to clear during the 2nd preliminary final between the Brisbane Lions and the Carlton at the Gabba in Brisbane, Australia.. Photo by Michael Klein.

Sam Walsh was 8000km away from the MCG on grand final day and yet still found himself surrounded by Collingwood supporters.

Along with teammates Adam Cerra, Brodie Kemp and Paddy Dow, the Carlton superstar figured an English sports pub in downtown Tokyo would be a safe haven to watch the game they’d come so close to playing in.

“We went to this English sports pub which was hard enough to find in a city of 27 million people,” Walsh explained. “Funnily enough there were a few Collingwood supporters there who were having a good laugh at us.

“It was one of the better grannies in a long time but it definitely hurt to watch.”

A week earlier Carlton had produced their best 25 minutes of football for the season to lead the Brisbane Lions by five goals in the preliminary final.

History shows the next 90 minutes didn’t go as well and it was the Lions who played Collingwood in the GF with Walsh and his teammates left to ponder what might have been.

Paddy Dow. Sam Walsh and Adam Cerra in Tokyo during the off-season.

The Carlton players in Tokyo during the off-season.

“It felt like everyone in the team was in flow,” Walsh says. “You look back and kick yourself given the position we were in but I think it shows the footy that we are capable of.

“We probably learnt some good lessons from the next three quarters and Brisbane have been a team who have fronted up year in year out (in the finals).

“That first quarter summed up the lessons we have learned in terms of playing that powerful impactive footy where everyone gets involved, you defend together and hopefully there is a lot that we can take into next year and just develop consistency.”

As the Asahi’s went down in Tokyo, Walsh and his teammates couldn’t help but think for a minute about the enormity of a Carlton-Collingwood grand final.

“Can you imagine what the build-up in Melbourne would have been like,” Walsh says before his voice trails off.

The Blues had got a snippet of that throughout September after their thrilling finals wins over Sydney and Melbourne.

“When we got to the finals Vossy (coach Michael Voss) always spoke about how we’re here to impact, it’s not just to make it up.

“None of those games were perfect by any stretch, which finals aren’t, they are always a tussle but just the build-up and atmosphere around Melbourne, to have 90,000 at the G’ against Sydney is just incredible.

“To get that win, to feel the adrenaline and see the happiness on the fans faces. That’s why the off-season has been pretty cool around Melbourne because we’ve had so many fans come up and say we enjoyed that run.

“We know we have still got a long way to go but to even have a taste of that is more a motivating factor than anything to rest on.”

The Blues were knocked out of the finals in Brisbane. Photo by Michael Klein.

In typical Walsh fashion when it’s pointed out that he was voted the player of the finals – winning the AFL Coaches Association Gary Ayres Award despite playing one less game than second placegetter Lion Keidean Coleman – he immediately deflects to the team.

“From a team perspective I think we created a lot of self belief based off the work we had done for a lot of that year,” he says. “Going through a bit of adversity, you nearly learn your best lessons when it’s not going your way. That’s what we probably felt.”

Walsh knows a fair bit about adversity.

As one Blues official said this week: “This time last year he was walking around like he was 52 not 22.”

A back problem had flared as soon as he returned for the start of pre-season training. Bending down to pick the ball and even kicking was met with shooting nerve pain down his leg.

Back surgery was the least palatable option so for six weeks Walsh and the Blues medical staff tried to find other cures. Cortisone injections, pilates and just complete rest were tried but by December it was obvious they had to bite the bullet and go under the knife.

“At this point last year we were trying all different things to avoid surgery,” Walsh says. “It just got to the point where I couldn’t do any sort of activity or stand up for too long of a period.

“For someone like me who loves training and pre-season is such a good time because everyone is generally feeling good. The weather is great, you’re backing up sessions and feeling fit so that was probably one of the biggest challenges I have had to face.”

Given he’s so process driven, once he’d had the surgery Walsh was able to lock in and follow the required steps, helped significantly by the fact he had two sounding boards in teammates Lachie Fogarty and George Hewett who’d had similar surgery before.

Walsh with fitness coach Andrew Russell during his recovery from a back injury in February 2023. Pic: Michael Klein

He returned in Round 5 against Adelaide, collecting 25 possessions and kicking a goal. In his first nine games back, the Blues only won one match.

Walsh wasn’t himself. He knew it was going to take time but he admits he was “forcing it a bit”.

“Then there was a turning point, midway through the season I started to get my rhythm back and we started to get back to playing that brand of footy we wanted as a team,” he says.

“With that I felt I was being involved in more scores and chains, using my run again and us as a midfield group, and a team, we all started wanting to defend together and play our roles.”

There was one more curveball to come. In Round 19 against West Coast he strained a hamstring. He’d never done one before and with the resurgent Blues charging towards a finals berth, Walsh was anxious again.

It turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

“To be honest it was probably the best thing for me because I was still experiencing a bit of that back stuff throughout the year and then I had a complete rest for the hammie,” he says.

“So I bounced out of that feeling so much better for my back and I got to rehab the hammy to the point where I wasn’t even thinking about it.

“I was a bit rusty coming back against the Giants (the Round 24 loss) but then I had a really good week of training leading into the finals. I felt like I got my mojo back a little bit.

“I always train at high intensity and the thing I found about finals is it’s just longer patches of the game that are high intensity.”

The midfielder produced the best game of his career in the semi-final against Melbourne. Photo by Michael Klein.

And that’s why Walsh thrived – his 34 possessions and two goals against Melbourne in the semi-final was a September masterclass – further cementing his reputation as one of the best midfielders in the game.

He was already a devotee to the benefits of pre-season training but now Walsh has an even greater understanding which is why he’s smiling his way through the time trials around Ikon Park.

And it’s not just his body which is different from 12 months ago. His football team has the finals monkey off its back and is now regarded by many as a genuine premiership contender in 2024.

“We’re not putting a limit on ourselves with anything,” Walsh said. “History shows you want to be challenging for that top four spot which all good teams aspire to.

“But I think we got caught maybe at times last year, maybe worrying about what’s going to end up happening rather than what we can do to get there.

“Maturity can come in a lot of ways and maybe the mental side of it is the thing for us.

“The competition last year showed how tough it is, if you are off for one week you get caught out and there are a lot of teams trying to aspire to what Collingwood ended up getting.

“I think for us, we know sort of what we need to know now and it’s just keep on hitting that on repeat I reckon.”

Do that and hopefully for Walsh that will mean no Tokyo bar next year.

Originally published as Walsh hunting 2024 redemption after Blues’ heartbreaking 2023 preliminary final loss