AFL Draft 2023: Meet Jed Walter, Gold Coast academy star linked with No.2 pick
He’s viewed as the best player not named Harley Reid in this year’s draft - but how has Jed Walter slipped through the fingers of the West Coast Eagles? It means Gold Coast are already draft night winners.
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As far as links to AFL players go, Jed Walter’s is a loose one.
“I love Charlie Curnow,” Walter said.
“Funny enough, he’s actually one of my good mate’s cousins.”
Walter and Curnow have never met, but the pair are often mentioned in the same sentence and could find themselves on the same football field in the AFL next year.
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Recruiters regularly liken Walter to the two-time Coleman Medal winner from Carlton.
The Gold Coast Suns Academy prospect, who measures 194cm, is as exciting a key forward prospect as the national draft has seen in recent years and has similar attributes to Curnow with his power, strength, marking ability and attack on the footy.
”He’s something special,” one recruiter said of Walter.
“If you look back at guys that have gone pick 1 like (Tom) Boyd, he’s just so far in front of those boys. He’s a modern AFL athlete. He’s dynamic, he’s big, he’s strong and he’s agile. He’s got some serious scope.”
Walter grew up in Perth as a “hard-core” West Coast supporter and looked up to Nic Naitanui and Josh Kennedy.
But as the comparisons to Curnow have come in recent years, he has watched the Blues star more closely.
“I love the way he goes about it,” Walter said of Curnow.
“I try to pick things from his game and introduce them into my game.
“If I could be anything close to Charlie Curnow I’d be happy because he’s an unreal player.”
Walter was unsurprisingly a dominant offensive force for the Allies during the under-18 national championships in the middle of the year, averaging 7.5 score involvements and booting 11 goals across his four matches.
However, what impressed Allies coach Mark McVeigh most was the defensive side of Walter’s game, which might have come about from watching a lot of one of his Eagles idols.
“I reckon he’s a lot like Josh Kennedy in regards to his defence,” McVeigh said.
“Josh at his best was high pressure, high workrate, chase down tackle and really able to buy into that front half footy game. That’s what Jed does.
“He wants to tackle, he wants to chase, he wants to compete and he wants to bring the ball to ground. They’re the things that are hard to get as a key forward. He’s ready to go in that area.”
A laid-back and fun-loving character, Walter has been part of the Suns Academy since under-12s, following his move from Perth at a young age.
He quickly adjusted to the Queensland lifestyle and spent his summers in the surf lifesaving nippers and youth programs.
“It was AFL during the winter and then surf lifesaving in the summer and that kept me fit,” Walter said.
“I’ve tried surfing but I’m pretty horrible so I’ll stick away from that.”
The 18-year-old has had plenty of involvement with the Suns over the years, but did not join fellow Academy prospects Ethan Read and Jake Rogers in completing the majority of pre-season with the senior group last summer.
He instead took a two-month trip to the United States and Canada with his mother and two sisters over Christmas.
“I’d never seen the snow before, so Canada was pretty cool,” Walter said.
“I missed the pre-season with the Suns, so I was a bit slow coming into the year. But I built into the season.”
Having finished school last year, Walter has had plenty of time to use Gold Coast’s facilities and attend some training sessions since returning from his holiday.
In recent months he has been rehabilitating a knee injury that ended his season early, but he has also kept himself busy teaching the next generation of Queensland footballers for the company ‘One On One Football’.
“I just run group sessions for kids, teaching them skills. It has been really good for me as well,” Walter said.
“All the kids are really good and they look up to me, which is pretty surreal.”
The number of children who look up to Walter could soon explode as he prepares to enter the AFL.
The Suns are widely expected to match a bid on Walter at pick two in this month’s national draft.
“You never really know where you’re going until your name is actually called out by the club, but it’s pretty exciting times,” Walter said.
“I don’t really read into it (being a top-two prospect) too much. I just play footy. But whatever happens, happens on draft night.”
JED WALTER
Club: Gold Coast Suns Academy/Palm Beach Currumbin
Height: 194cm
Weight: 97kg
Position: key forward
Plays like: Charlie Curnow (Carlton)
Expected draft range: 2-3
U18 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Game averages (four matches for Allies)
Ranking points: 104
Disposals: 13
Marks: 7
Contested marks: 2.8
Score involvements: 7.5
Goals: 2.8
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