Name: Sam Walsh
Position:ย Midfield/Forward
Club: Geelong Falcons
D.O.B: 2/7/00
Height:ย 183cm
Weight: 74kg
Draft Range: 1-5
Summary:ย Damaging ball-winner who can kick goals and is clean by hand and foot.
Strengths:
- Extremely dangerous in the midfield and moving forward
- Clean around the footy and at the contest
- Excellent at stoppages
- Very competitive and can run all day
- Wins contested ball
- Very skilled player
- Big game player
Weaknesses:
- Not the tallest or biggest player
- Lacks some breakaway explosiveness, but doesn't let it limit him
Overview:
Sam Walsh is considered the obvious choice for pick No.1 in this year's national draft, drawing comparisons to Adam Treloar and Joel Selwood.
The midfielder collects plenty of the ball, is continually improving his kicking, has elite endurance and this year has added a more contested element to his game while starring for struggling sides. Walsh is ultra competitive and has demonstrated he can stand up when his team needs him most, including kicking goals at crucial moments. He has found excellent balance between winning the ball and providing run, and is working on his acceleration and non-preferred kicking.
Walsh's accolades this year have been impressive: captain of the Geelong Falcons, Vic Country and the AFL Academy, All-Australian, Ben Mitchell medallist as the best prospect from the Academy, and winner of the Larke Medal as the most outstanding player in the division one carnival.
Walsh is an absolute ball-magnet and is highly touted as the best midfielder from this year's draft crop.ย His potential is backed by a blistering highlights reel, which includes a number of standout performances across the TAC Cup and NAB U18 championships.
Highlights:
