Former Geelong Falcons coach on what makes Carlton’s Sam Walsh a future star
Sam Walsh has the footy world buzzing, but one man saw it coming long before most. His under-18 coach DAN O’KEEFE reveals what makes the Carlton youngster that little bit special.
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Carlton young gun Sam Walsh last night had AFL fans abuzz after another blistering pre-season display.
And as his former TAC Cup coach DAN O’KEEFE writes, his rising reputation shouldn’t come as a surprise.
SAM WALSH: READY TO BE NO.1
SUPERCOACH: EVERY SCORE FROM BLUES v BOMBERS
Here’s what the former Geelong Falcons coach wrote the day after the Blues swooped with the first pick in last year’s national draft.
‘DESTINED FOR GREATNESS? MOST LIKELY’
Luke Hodge was the fiercest competitor. Brendon Goddard was the most determined and Marc Murphy oozed professionalism and class.
The best No. 1 draft picks of the modern era? Possibly.
Talent and ability is a must and the above traits are desirable. But when you wrap all of these characteristics together into one, you will find Sam Walsh underneath the surface.
You can easily debate that he has more determination, professionalism, class and is a fiercer competitor than anyone else in this draft pool. He was the obvious and safest choice as the first pick in this year’s draft.
It was April when we had our first win of the season at the Geelong Falcons.
It felt like doom and gloom until then. We played Sam at half forward and he found the ball 38 times — 31 kicks, 20 handball receives, nine tackles and ran nearly 14km.
Those totals are all ranked as elite at AFL level, so his numbers were astonishing given TAC Cup games are about 30 minutes shorter than AFL matches.
Later that week, Sam and I went for a casual walk around Highton Reserve before training. Coming off the performance we just witnessed, I was eager to talk to him about what he wanted to get out of the draft later this year.
The media hype was starting to pick up and I needed to ensure we were right across his best interests.
It took some poking and prodding to understand if he thought he could be the No. 1 pick — and if he even wanted that.
With his humble nature, he flirted around answering the question, but you could tell through his smirk that he truly believed he could be that person. And yes he wanted it — like Hodge, he’s a competitive beast.
All year, recruiters have been asking me questions and trying to pick holes in his game.
I guess that is their job, to uncover anything they don’t already know.
The general concern was always based around his speed. But the same recruiters also suggest he moves away from contests with sidesteps and lateral movements better than anyone. No one can catch him.
The contradiction is laughable at times. In fact, the recruiters chuckle too.
It’s like this incredibly gifted young man just understands his game so damn well, that he has worked on plugging up all the holes.
For the people that haven’t seen him play, but just heard about it — everything you hear is true. He is the complete package. He even used to be small two years ago, now he is six foot. Somehow he has even worked on his height, and was successful.
The beauty about Carlton is that they had the pick of anyone in the land.
They weigh up everything from talent, schooling, character and their social media. Do they drink much? What’s their family support and life balance? How much improvement is there in their game?
As mentioned earlier, Sam has near no chinks in his armour.
One thing that stands out is his genuine character and personality. He isn’t your normal 18-year-old.
He is mature beyond his years, but can also balance having a laugh and fun with his peers. In fact, I often caught him dancing in the gym or the locker rooms.
He thinks he can move like Drake and tries to emulate LeBron in front of the mirror.
If you look back in history at the careers of some of the greatest junior players, I doubt there is one who has the accolades Sam does.
He made every representative team and was named captain of all of them, including Australia. He was also judged the best player of these teams, again including the national championships.
The Chris Judds and Brett Deledios of the world were recognised as outstanding TAC Cup players. But they didn’t achieve this.
Sam even organised and bought my son’s first footy jumper.
What 17-year-old does that? No one asked him. But the thought that went into it was simply amazing.
He jumped through hoops to get an exact replica of the current Falcons jumper and he put No. 2 on the back, my old number from 12 years ago when I played there.
He then presented it to my little boy in front of the whole club, with some beautiful words to go with it.
This is one of those moments of greatness that I will take to the grave and I will never forget.
There is no doubt Sam is who he is because of how he has been raised. Jacque and Wayne ought to be — and I know they are — extremely proud of their son.
Sam’s brothers Henry and Tommy also look up to him as the perfect role model.
A credit to the entire family who have supported Sam’s journey and life so incredibly well.
A coaching philosophy that I will always live by is that players need to drive their own development.
Seek the opportunities to be better with an open growth mindset.
Players have to want to be better. We spoke about this many times at the Falcons.
This year was challenging for me in several ways — as coaching any side is.
But on a number of occasions, I was told by different people that I gave Sam too much attention.
As a head coach, that isn’t ideal to hear. In fact it worried me that this was perceived. But here is a lesson to any young, aspiring footballer. I couldn’t get away from Sam. His commitment and determination to be better resulted in him being in my coaches’ room more than anyone else.
It resulted in having more conversations with Sam than any other player this year.
So I admit it, I did spend more time in Sam’s pocket and supporting his growth, for one reason: he sought it and wanted it.
Brendon Bolton will see this in the coming months — and over Sam’s entire playing career.
Bolton will end up life mates with Sam because of this also.
It is unknown how Sam’s career will turn out. It is easy to speculate and say he will play 300 games and be a captain … but that is a long way away, with a lot of blood, sweat and tears that will occur before that.
Dare I say this, but he will have some bad games; he will miss targets by foot and fall off tackles.
Sam will be judged on what he does after these moments and how he bounces back.
The Sam I know will give his world up to be the best possible version of himself.
A talent that is rare, a footballer you pay overs for and, heaven forbid, one of the most exemplary people you will ever come across.
Destined for greatness? Most likely.
WALSH CRUNCHED IN RISING STAR BETTING
Meanwhile, Sam Walsh has been crunched in Rising Star betting on the back of his superb form in Thursday night’s JLT Series opener against Essendon
Carlton’s newest no.1 draft pick is now a firm $3 favourite to take out the most coveted award for AFL youngsters, with betting agencies further slashing his price after his eye-catching display against the Bombers.
Walsh was a $7 chance when Rising Star markets first opened — equal favourite with fellow Blues recruit Will Setterfield.
He has since been the best-backed of any player, accounting for more than half all bets with TAB.
Yesterday he was still a $3.75 chance before a couple more large bets saw him firm into $3.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING ABOUT SAM WALSH
BLUES ASSISTANT DALE AMOS (after last night)
“If you’d seen the way he’s applied himself from the moment he walked in — how he’s trained, how he’s had an appetite to learn and want to grow — the way he’s performing isn’t surprising.”
“He’s got a real desperation to be a really good player, which is a great thing to have at the footy club.
“... He’s been impressive and it wasn’t just the game today, it’s been his whole pre-season.
“Tonight’s showing would suggest he’s going to be a pretty strong candidate (for round one).”
PATRICK DANGERFIELD (last year)
“If you look at his statistics, they’re one thing. He averages 30-odd possessions per game,” Dangerfield told Fox Footy.
“But it’s just the way he plays, how composed he is and the leadership he possesses.
“If you’re a side that’s lucky enough to pick up this young fella, he’s going to play for a very, very long time.
“He’s just the complete package, I believe.
“He did some training with us and was really impressive.”
BLUES ASSISTANT DAVID TEAGUE (after scratch match v Hawthorn)
“He (Walsh) has been outstanding, the intensity he trains at allows him to play like we saw him today.
“The way he applies himself the way he trains, I have never seen a first-year player train with that intensity.”
GEELONG FALCONS TALENT MANAGER MICHAEL TURNER (last year)
“We’ve already had seven AFL captains come through the Falcons and he’s probably in front of any of them at that age.
“He’s just a no-risk player. He’s the best prepared player I think I’ve ever seen ... he’s going to be a 10 to 15-year player.
“He’s a very professional young man. “He’s got time for everyone and nothing seems to phase him.”
Originally published as Former Geelong Falcons coach on what makes Carlton’s Sam Walsh a future star
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