Two-time North Melbourne Premiership player andย Fox Footyย analyst David King believes that if opposition teams are to beat Carlton this season, then they will need to focus on stopping Sam Walsh.
After a blistering start to 2021 that saw the former number one pick find the footy on 31 occasions last Thursday night, King is of the belief that the 20-year-old now poses a greater threat than his skipper Patrick Cripps.
Midfielder
Disposals
Tackles
Clearances
With the pace of the game expected to increase this season and the view that Walsh's wider skillset as an offensive outlet will sound more alarm bells, King believes that coaches fixtured to face the Blues should be sending a stopper to the former Geelong Falcon.
โSam Walsh, for me, has become the number one player that needs to be tagged at Carlton. He's gone straight past Paddy Cripps,โ King said on Fox Footy's AFL 360 on Wednesday night.
โBecause of the damage that he brings to the game, the creativity, his ball-use. The threat to use run-and-carry."
Despite featuring outside of the centre square for the majority of his first two seasons at AFL level, Walsh attended 21 centre bounces against the Tigers in Round 1, something King believes will become the norm.
Notable CBAs;
Sam Walsh 21, 70% (2nd mid)
James Jordon 10, 43% (3rd)
Adam Cerra 15, 65% (1st)
Rory Laird 24, 77% (1st)
Sam Berry 14, 45% (4th)
Jye Caldwell 16, 53% (3rd)
Callum Mills 22, 61% (2nd)
Willem Drew 20, 67% (2nd)
Hunter Clark 19, 70% (2nd)#SuperCoach— SuperCoach Take (@SuperCoachTake) March 22, 2021
โAnd he's going into centre bounces now - he went in there 21 times on the weekend; last year he was there for eight in total for the season, 11 the year prior.
โAnd we just see what he can do - so creative. 30-plus disposals, he's only done that five times in his previous 40-odd games.
โSo he's taken giant steps in this pre-season period and I just think now the next step is becoming super damaging forward of centre, not just getting ball back half.โ
Although coaches deploying taggers has recently fallen by the wayside, the dual All-Australian back-pocket claimed that the new rules should necessitate their return.
โI think it will (lead to more tagging), given we're all waiting to see who's gonna blink first in the coaching department,โ King said on AFL 360.
On the board.
Sam Walsh and Patrick Cripps have been recognised by the coaches for their efforts in the season opener.
— Carlton FC (@CarltonFC) March 22, 2021
โIf they haven't tagged Dustin Martin, why would they tag Sam Walsh, but that's the discussion, isn't it? I think a team tag - if he's near you, you pick him up, you stay diligent.
โBut now that he's going in at centre bounces, his whole game has changed, so the scope for Sam Walsh in 2021 is now huge.โ
Walsh, along with Cripps, have been selected to attend Carlton's first centre bounce against Collingwood this Thursday night.
Across their history, the Magpies and Blues are tied at 127 wins each when the two clubs face each other.
