OCEAN Grove footballer Sam Walsh will officially pull on the Old Dark Navy Blue next season after Carlton selected the midfield jet with its No.1 pick at the 2018 NAB AFL Draft.<\/p>\n
After producing a dazzling under-18 season, the talented youngster was the clear standout when the Blues called out his name first overall last week. Walsh grew up and learned his footy skills in the south-west where his dad Wayne was a prominent Hampden football league figure and played in Cobden\u2019s back-to-back premierships in 1997-98.<\/p>\n
The family lived in the Top End for a few years before basing themselves in Ocean Grove where Walsh found his way into the Geelong Falcons program.<\/p>\n
Carlton general manager of list management and strategy Stephen Silvagni said he was delighted to secure Walsh with the No.1 pick. \u201cWe\u2019re absolutely thrilled to have secured Sam Walsh as the No.1 draft pick for the Blues,\u201d Silvagni said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur entire recruiting team has done a huge amount of work prior to tonight and we couldn\u2019t be more pleased with the quality of both the person and\u00a0player we have brought into the club.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis year\u2019s draft pool is clearly a hugely\u00a0talented group, so for Sam to stand out is a real\u00a0testament to how hard he has worked throughout his football journey.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mum Jacque and dad Wayne said the prospect of Sam running out for his first AFL game would be an\u00a0exciting reward for their son\u2019s hard work.<\/p>\n
Walsh has already won a plethora of awards from his outstanding draft year, winning the Larke Medal as the best player of the under-18 National Championships.<\/p>\n
He also captained the Geelong Falcons, Vic Country, the NAB AFL Academy squad and the under-18 All Australian team.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
OCEAN Grove footballer Sam Walsh will officially pull on the Old Dark Navy Blue next season after Carlton selected the midfield jet with its No.1 pick at the 2018 NAB AFL Draft. After producing a dazzling under-18 season, the talented youngster was the clear standout when the Blues called out his name first overall last […]<\/p>\n