THOSE who watch Sam Walsh play football are taken aback by his pure competitiveness, drive and appetite to get the very best out of himself. Ever since day one, where he came in as the No.1 pick in a ‘superdraft’. 

But those who meet Sam Walsh away from football are just as impressed with who he is as a person. Ever since day one, where despite being regarded as a future star of the game, he never acted like it. 

It’s Walsh’s humility which always strikes a cord, willing to have a chat about someone else rather than himself. And when it boils down to it, his time in Darwin as a kid may form the foundation of that. 

When Walsh looks back on his three years in the Northern Territory, to say he looks back on it fondly would be an understatement. 

“I remember when I heard we were going up to Darwin originally, I didn’t want to go. Now, I look back on it as the best thing to happen to me,” Walsh told Carlton Media this week. 

“I learned a lot about getting to know different people. One thing about Darwin is it’s pretty diverse, so you learn a lot about different cultures. Indigenous Australia has such as big presence in the NT, which is pretty cool to see first-hand.” 

Walsh was starting Grade 4 when Wayne Walsh - a school teacher by trade - got a job with AFLNT working as a Game Development Officer. Sam, the eldest son, and Wayne packed the trailer and drove to Darwin from Cobden: a three-day trip ensued, where father and son witnessed outback Australia. 

Mum Jacque and younger brothers Henry and Tommy made the trip about a month later. While it was only scheduled to be for 12 months, another 24 were eventually added on. 

Unsurprisingly for Carlton’s current co-vice captain, there was one aspect in particular which he absolutely loved. 

“Dry season is cricket season — but there would be an under-10s and under-12s football competition, so I’d play in that. Then, when it’d get to wet season (which is summer down here), it’d be footy season from under-14s onwards, where I was playing for Nightcliff Tigers as an 11-year-old. 

“I was playing footy all year round. I thought it was like Christmas. 

“The way that football is played up there, and I think this comes from the Indigenous presence, it was all about flair and bringing your strengths to the table. I was in awe of some of those guys. 

“I learned a lot, getting experiences in Darwin that I wouldn’t have gotten in Victoria through competition for spots and sheer population.” 

This week is NAIDOC Week, with the theme for 2023 being ‘For Our Elders’, citing how “across every generation, our Elders have played, and continue to play, an important role and hold a prominent place in our communities and families”. 

That sense of community is one which has always stood out to Walsh, who - without even realising it - was growing accustomed to Indigenous customs and history from an early age due to his time in the Northern Territory. 

“As I said, the Indigenous population is a lot bigger in Darwin, so you’re exposed to a lot more. Even at primary school, you’d learn a lot about Indigenous culture and the history involved in it, or hearing different stories that I wouldn’t really be exposed to if I wasn’t living in that environment. 

“It wasn’t something that when I was a kid that I remember looking at it a lot, but it was just always there. They’re things which we’re integrating really well now, particularly at the footy club, but that was happening back then for me.” 

While Walsh may have been exposed to all of this from an early age, he’s well and truly aware that he’s still got a lot to learn. But it’s something he - and the wider football club - is constantly embracing. 

Everybody’s got their own origin story. 

And there’s an adage from - of all things - Ted Lasso which, when asked, Walsh said rings true for all at Carlton, no matter the circumstance. 

Be curious, not judgmental. 

“It’s spot on.” Nice one, Ted. 

“The biggest thing where I feel like we’re strong as a club is being always willing to learn. Everyone has their story in terms of where they come from and the amount of people that helped get them there. 

“A sign of a good culture is everybody feels comfortable.  

“Inside the Club, we embrace a lot of things really well. Sir Doug Nicholls Round is always a pretty monumental thing for everyone and you always learn a couple of things each year.” 

As he inches towards 100 games after an interrupted start to 2023, Walsh is always looking ahead. For someone so determined to succeed, he’d much rather look towards big games to come for his football club. 

However, with a century potentially approaching this year, Walsh looks back on a few things affection. There was his first game and first goal, of course, but being back in Darwin in 2020 for Sir Doug Nicholls Round ranks very highly, given the sentiment surrounding it. 

“When I got drafted to Carlton, I never thought I’d be able to play a game in Darwin. That was unreal. 

“There were even fans yelling out ‘welcome back ‘Walshy’’, which was pretty cool. To see the fans there that day, you nearly felt like a celebrity on the bus because everybody was running after it. . . . even though it was directed at Eddie Betts! 

“I have a lot to owe Darwin. I’d love to go back there and get up there with a few of the boys. Because it’s a fair trek, not many see it as a great place to go, but with Jesse Motlop being from there, I reckon we could get a few there.” 

Would he back himself as the tour guide, or would he hand the reins over to his teammate? 

“I reckon ‘Mots’ definitely has me covered! He’s got the family presence, plus the Motlop name.”