Carlton rising star Sam Walsh is preparing to play a mostly on-ball role in 2021.
Walsh spent 2020 playing a largely wing role for the Blues and is a big chance to take home the club’s best and fairest when it’s held in February.
The 20-year-old averaged 21 disposals, four inside 50s and four marks per game in that role last season.
Carlton moved Walsh on-ball in the final month of the season and he starred in Round 18, picking up 31 disposals, six clearances and five inside 50s against Brisbane.
“I think that that’s a transition I want to make with my game,” Walsh told Sportsday when asked if he was playing on-ball in 2021.
“The thing I pride myself on is being a versatile player, so I’m happy to play various roles for the team and a strength for us this year will be plenty of guys who can go through different roles and I think I can be one of them.
“There’s things that I’m working on to try and transition my game into on-ball time so I’m continually working on that and we’ll see where that lands me.”
Carlton finished 2020 in 11th position on the ladder and were a live finals chance in the final six weeks of the season, before dropping away.
Walsh said the Blues have accepted the high expectations of them this year and will be playing an attacking game style to try and break their seven-year finals drought.
“I reckon the expectation for us this year will be finals football this year, but it does sound cliché and boring … but we’re willing to put in the work to get to that position,” he said.
“We want to play attacking and hard-nose footy. That’s how we want to be known as a club is really attacking and play an exciting brand of footy that allows us to win games of footy which ultimately leads to playing finals football.
“We want to be a physical team that moves the ball quick. With the weapons that we’ve now got and the way we’re training at the moment, I think that’s been a big focus for us, trying to move the ball quick to catch the opposition off guard and that’s something that’s been building nicely over the off-season.”