Falcon leads way against Kiwis
Falcons star Sam Welsh couldn’t believe his luck on a recent tour of New Zealand with the Australian under-18s team when he lined up against his boyhood idol, Brownlow medallist Simon Black.
SAM Walsh grew up idolising triple Brisbane Lions premiership hero Simon Black.
So when an opportunity arose to go head-tohead with the 2002 Brownlow medallist, Walsh took it with both hands. And he excelled. “He’s still got it,” Walsh said of Black. “He found the ball a fair bit early on. He got injured after halftime but he’s still got that class.”
In a match where boys were pitted against a senior New Zealand representative team, Walsh, 16, turned heads as he produced a performance for the ages on debut for Australia in a one-off match in New Zealand.
Dominating for the AIS Academy under-17 side, the Geelong Falcon was awarded the Cameron Ling Medal for best afield. “It was a huge honour to play for Australia and the boys in the academy, and to play the way we did was a credit to us. It was good fun,” Walsh said.
Rubbing shoulders with Geelong premiership captain Ling at Falcons’ headquarters last night, he said he was humbled to win the medal.
“It’s a huge honour when you look at what Lingy’s done in the game,” Walsh said. “And to be voted by your peers is pretty humbling.”
Growing up in Cobden in the southwest, Walsh grew fond of ball-magnet Black, who had a reputation for his strong work ethic and skill.
“Through the juniors I barracked for Brisbane and I loved the way he’d go about it, so it was awesome to play against him,” he said.
“I have definitely looked at what he’s done, the way he uses the ball and his inside and outside game. I got to meet him the night before the game and see the type of person he is and it shows how he got to where he is.”
Walsh has followed in the footsteps of Sydney-listed Lloyd Perris, Port Adelaide’s Sam Powell-Pepper and Western Bulldog Josh Dunkley, who have won the Ling Medal.
And Ling, who captained the Falcons in 1998 and 1999 before winning three flags with the Cats in a decorated career, is eager to track the progress of the elite, bottom-age, midfielder. “I’ll be watching him closely,” he said. “I hope he enjoys the next couple of years and keeps improving.
“I don’t dish out too much advice because it’s their own journey, but I love what Sam was just saying about Simon Black.
“Modelling his game on someone like ‘Blacky’, you can’t get a better example of who you want to be.”