“YOU PROBABLY learn how hard footy can be at times.” 

For Sam Walsh, it was certainly a season bookended with adversity, facing injuries that saw him miss Round 1 and Round 23 of the 2022 season. 

Having never missed a game for Carlton before Round 1, it wasn’t easy for Walsh to watch his teammates run out without him – once in a drought-breaking win and once in a devastating loss. 

In terms of the Round 23 loss, Walsh was devastated that he had to withdraw from the game late, but he believed the unique experience of sitting alongside his coaches in the box and seeing how the game works from up above at the highest level was an eye opener.

“It’s a great view from up there and you see how you want the game to unfold, but it doesn’t always happen,” Walsh said. 

“It really was a finals-like game and I think I learned our coaches are great at backing us in and sticking to what we want to do and it’s up to us to do that for longer periods in games.” 

The 81-gamer certainly plays and acts above his experience level, having been elevated to the leadership group in just his second season at the Club, participating in his first season as co-vice captain this year. 

For Walsh, leading by example is important to him - on and off the field - and loves to soak up as much as he can from those around him and use each experience to hold him in good stead. 

“Each year, I feel like I’m growing in my leadership and that’s just with my maturity and learning from experiences,” he said.

“To be able to work alongside ‘Weiters’ and ‘Crippa’ this year, along with all the other boys that have been vital in the leadership part of the team, it’s been great – we can keep on taking it to another level.” 

Coming off a season in which he was selected for the All-Australian team and being awarded the John Nicholls Medal, Walsh had a lot to prove in his 2022 season, which wasn’t helped by his halted start to the season. 

Working hard to get back for Round 2 was his first hurdle, while getting his output back to the elite level was the next task that Walsh was determined to complete. 

Playing a slightly different role to previous years with the addition of Adam Cerra and George Hewett to the midfield, Walsh relished the chance to start up forward and use his running power and ball-winning nous to help his teammates on the outside. 

Gaining more confidence in every game he played, Walsh was able to produce some career-best numbers and put together match-defining performances whilst also learning the importance of versatility and adaptability, ranking second in the competition for effective disposals per game. 

“For me as a player, I want to be versatile and I think that can be a huge strength,” he said. 

“There’s probably a few games where I learnt to play the role better than what I had in the previous week and I think that’s my growth as a footballer. 

“We have such a strong midfield in there, if we can keep creating that chemistry, it’s only going to make it better for all of us.”

Looking forward to getting back into it as soon as possible, Walsh is elated that the new IKON Park facilities will be in readiness when the players return.

While the players from both the AFL and AFLW program have been able to enjoy parts of the redevelopment in the back half of the year, everything will be right to go for the AFL players come day one of pre-season.

"I still walk into the Club now and you appreciate how good these facilities are, especially when it's been teasing us the past two years," he said. 

"I think we've got to use it to the best of our abilities and I'm sure we'll do that – it's great to be a part of."