NO MATTER the personnel to take the field on Saturday night, Sam Walsh believes his side will be ready to face Melbourne.
Despite the potential of losing Patrick Cripps to suspension, Walsh is confident that the consistent 2022 mentality of ‘next man up’ will hold the team in good stead in a vital fortnight for the Blues.
“There’s no doubt that 'Crippa' is a big part for us so it would be good to have him this week, but I think the theming for us this whole year has been about the next guy stepping up. I think we’ve got confidence no matter who is coming into the team,” Walsh said.
“I think we’ve shown moments this year where we can play really powerful footy, so it’s about getting back on the same page and enjoying being out there.”
Adamant that the Blues are in the best position they've been in since Walsh's time at the Club when it comes to challenging the best sides in the competition, Walsh said the Blues would continue to not put the onus simply on outcomes.
Lamenting the side's lack of energy to start the game against Brisbane rather than a positive final quarter, Walsh said conversations would continue to be had about how far the group has come since last season.
“I think for us as a group, we haven’t been worried about or thought about outcomes for the whole year, so there’s no point doing it now,” he said.
“We would’ve killed to have been in this position in the past few years, so we have to have some optimism in the way we want to go about it.
“I know our fans will get behind us and we just have to provide that tough footy that we’ve brought for a lot of this year.”
Acknowledging the situation currently in front of the Blues, Walsh said the messaging from the coaching group all year has been about embracing the ups and downs of football and the unique situations that can arise.
“There’s a lot of ups and downs in the footy season and I suppose this is one of them at the moment,” he said.
“Our coaches all year have had a great balance of us learning from a few of our mistakes but also being optimistic about what we can bring and how we play our best footy.
“The cornerstone for us is playing tough and hard and helping each other out, I think that’s what we expect going forward.”
With fellow midfielders George Hewett and Matt Kennedy out of the side due to injury, Walsh believes the group have built a cohesiveness among themselves that can compete no matter who is on the park.
Ahead of the Melbourne clash, Walsh said the team wouldn’t be preparing for this game any differently than they usually do, treating each game with equal importance and respect for the opposition.
As for his own role in the team, Walsh is continuing to focus on moving both ways down the ground to support his teammates and ensuring he is doing all he can ahead of the game against the reigning premier.
“There’s no doubt those boys have been great for us all year so when you have players of that calibre not in the team, it obviously changes the dynamic a bit,” he said.
“The ability to jell as a group is all of us playing for each other and I think guys will thrive off that no matter who comes in.
“It’s a big game for us, I think they all are, they all count as four points and for me individually, I try and be consistent across every week in preparation. No matter the enormity of the game, we know what we need to bring."
