Stunning stats that show Carlton rookie Sam Walsh shades stars like Ablett, Dangerfield, Bontempelli

Carlton No.1 draft pick Sam Walsh passes the eye test with flying colours, but just how well does he stack up against the game’s elite players, like Patrick Dangerfield and Nat Fyfe, at the beginning of their careers?

Carlton No.1 pick Sam Walsh's statistics through his first six games put him ahead of some of the best midfielders in the game.

Carlton No.1 draft pick Sam Walsh passes the eye test with flying colours, but how well does he stack up against the game’s elite players at the beginning of their careers?

Walsh has enjoyed a stunning start to his AFL journey, exciting past greats and earning the admiration of teammates and opponents alike.

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Carlton No.1 pick Sam Walsh's statistics through his first six games put him ahead of some of the best midfielders in the game.

Whether it’s Carlton legends like Greg Williams and Craig Bradley, Blue mates Kade Simpson and Patrick Cripps and even Geelong star Patrick Dangerfield, they’re all blown away by the impact the 18-year-old has had in his short time in navy blue.

Champion Data rates five current players as elite midfielders: Brisbane gun Lachie Neale is a clear No.1, averaging 136 ranking points, followed by Cripps (128), rejuvenated Port Adelaide veteran Travis Boak (123), and Western Bulldogs prime movers Marcus Bontempelli (118) and Jack Macrae (115).

Boak’s role has changed since Ollie Wines came back into the Power team, so we’re subbing him out and adding Fremantle gun Nat Fyfe (114, but take the Round 3 concussion-affected 63 out and he rockets up to 127.3).

For posterity, we’ve added in Geelong great Gary Ablett Jr (97, now playing as a half-forward) and his star teammate Patrick Dangerfield (112 as a mid-forward).

2019'S ELITE MIDFIELDERS

Player	Ranking points AVG
Lachie Neale	136
Patrick Cripps	128
Travis Boak	123
Marcus Bontempelli	118
Jackson Macrae	115
Nat Fyfe	114*
Sam Walsh	95^

*Not elite, but concussed and scored only 63 in Round 3

^Not elite, but huge numbers for just six games

The stats comprehensively confirm that, while those players may have begun their careers in different roles to Walsh, none of them had a bigger impact than the 18-year-old through their first six games.

Walsh — a SuperCoach darling whose price has more than doubled from $207,300 to $443,600 — averages 95 ranking points, comfortably more than next best Fyfe (82) and more than double Neale’s 47.

Walsh has become an in and under beast already. Picture: Michael Klein

The Geelong Falcons product is an in-and-under beast who finds a mountain of the footy, averaging 10.7 contested possessions from 26.3 disposals. The best of the group, Macrae (17.8), averaged almost nine fewer possessions, while only teammate Cripps came close to his contested ball work (9.3).

The Cobden native has been lauded for his speed and tank, which allows him to burst away from the contest and gain a mountain of territory for the Blues, his 400m gained well ahead of Macrae’s 329 and triple Neale’s 137.

It’s not just with the ball that Walsh excels. He is one of the hardest workers at Carlton, second in pressure points (44.9) to Cripps in 2019 and well ahead of Bontempelli’s 37.6 through his first six games.

SAM WALSH V THE BEST AFTER SIX GAMES

Player	Ranking Points	Disposals	Contested possessions	Metres gained	Marks	Clearances	Pressure points	Pressure acts
Sam Walsh	95	26.3	10.7	400	5.3	4.5	44.9	22.3
Nat Fyfe	82	16	8.2	301	4.5	2	34.4	12.7
Patrick Cripps	72	16	9.3	131	2.3	2.5	31.2	11.8
Jack Macrae	61	17.8	6.3	329	2	1.5	21.6	9.3
Marcus Bontempelli	55	13.7	6.2	241	2.5	1.8	37.6	17.2
Patrick Dangerfield	52	11.3	4.7	N/A	3	N/A	N/A	N/A
Lachie Neale	47	12.2	4.2	137	1.7	0.3	26.9	12.7
Gary Ablett	N/A	10.7	7.5	N/A	1.5	N/A	N/A	N/A

So how good can he be?

Western Bulldogs legend Brad Johnson says it’s “no question” Walsh — who he coached during four AFL Academy camps last year — can be at the pointy end of the competition in time.

“He’s still got a lot to work on, so that’s why you sit there and you’re a bit nervous about comparing him to others,” Johnson said.

“But he’s not fazed about any of that, because he’s just creating his own journey and it’s started well and he understands it’s started well, but he also respects the picture that he’s six games into a career and things can change very quickly.

Sam Walsh with AFL Academy coach Brad Johnson at last year’s jumper presentation. Picture: Getty Images

“He’s real with it. It’s not something he’s overwhelmed by.”

Johnson said Walsh had qualities few possessed.

“He’s so difficult to stop, because he’s such a powerful runner,” he said.

“He works contest-to-contest, probably better than anyone in the competition, and that’s why these guys stand out, because of what they’re able to do once the ball leaves their area.

“They don’t become stagnant, they move to better positions to either help defend or get the ball in their hands again.

“It’s not reckless running either. You look at guys who might run 15km a game and might pick up 10 disposals, 12 disposals.

“As a young player in the competition — because sometimes you can feel like you’ve got to just run and run and run, but you get lost out there — he’s running the 15-16km and picking up good quality ball and that ball use is getting better the more his body is getting used to playing week in, week out.”