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Sam Walsh may well win the Rising Star award this year but Connor Rozee will end up the better player.
That is the opinion of Kane Cornes who has conceded that Carlton midfielder Walsh will be crowned this season’s best young player but feels Port Adelaide’s dynamic Rozee will override him in the future.
Cornes highlighted Rozee’s return of 20 goals from 15 games, which sees him atop the Power’s goal kicking charts, as the outstanding weapon in his arsenal which will supersede Walsh’s ball-gathering ability.
“This has been a bit of a bugbear of mine all year,” the Power premiership player said on SEN SA Breakfast.
“This one has fascinated me, the debate about who wins the Rising Star, and which player is going to be better.
“I’ve been accused by Carlton fans of being biased because of my favouritism towards Rozee, so I’ll say: Sam Walsh will win the Rising Star and deserves to win.
“If you look at some of his numbers, he averages 25 disposals, pretty good balance of contested and uncontested footy, he’s not a bad tackler (averages 3 per game), has been a staple (of the Carlton side) and has been rewarded with coaches votes by the AFL Coaches for the last three weeks in a row.
“We can put a stamp on him winning (the Rising Star).
“But what would you rather? Would you rather a player win the Rising Star or would you rather have the better player in the future?
“I certainly know what I’d rather. I couldn’t care less about the Rising Star. That is not an award that excites me.
“It’s good recognition for a young player who has had a great year but I want the better player.
“Then we go to Rozee. He’s the leading goal scorer of a team that is 7th on the AFL ladder. He’s playing in a position that he wasn’t recruited to play. He was recruited as a half-back and dominated for North Adelaide in the SANFL finals.
“Port have said we can’t fit him across half-back so let’s turn him into a forward. In the space of a pre-season at AFL level, he’s turned himself into a forward.”
Cornes made it clear that Carlton did not err in taking Walsh with Pick 1 in last year’s draft, but simply sees Rozee as being a more impactful player over the course of their careers.
“I don’t think it was a mistake from Carlton to pick him number one,” he added.
“But hindsight is a wonderful thing.
“The better player out of these two is clearly going to be Connor Rozee. And that debate, I can’t see it. I can’t see who could watch these two kids play and think that Sam Walsh will be the better player.
“I don’t think he’s (Walsh) that damaging. Connor Rozee will be the better player.”