WALSH UP FOR HEAT AS TOP PICK
SAM Walsh shoved ice in his socks to stop his feet boiling.
The red-hot favourite to be No.1 pick spent three years living in Darwin, which he remembers as a lesson in resilience.
“Some mornings you’d be playing and it’s 38C and the feet are burning,” said Walsh, who was 10 when he moved to the Top End.
“In remote areas, a lot of the boys would take off their boots when the ground got pretty hot. To play in that weather was a whole other beast alone.”
Izak Rankine loaded YouTube clips of Eddie Betts, Cyril Rioli, Gavin Wanganeen and Alwyn Davey as he was driven to games.
“I remember rocking up straight after watching highlights, putting a guernsey on and two minutes later I’d be on the field doing the same thing,” Rankine said.
“Seeing them take a bounce down the field or kick a goal or take a hanger got me really pumped when I was little and made me the player I am today.”
Jack Lukosius laughs off the Nick Riewoldt comparisons. But AFL talent manager Kevin Sheehan gushes at Lukosius’s running strengths and versatility, which, Sheehan says, are in the Riewoldt mould.
Tomorrow night Carlton will — for the fifth time in 14 years — crown the No.1 draft pick, choosing between the three.
Gold Coast is expected to then take the remaining pair at picks two and three.
It is a draft rich at the top, and Sheehan reckons any of the first batch would go No.1 most years.
So, what will the Blues do? Plump for the blue-chip midfielder they desperately crave in Walsh?
The electric Rankine, who on talent alone is a clear No.1?
Or the 194cm goalkicker with a graceful kick in Lukosius, who booted four goals on SANFL debut in last year’s preliminary final?
If Brisbane Lions were picking, Walsh would be their man.
“I must admit I really like Sammy Walsh for a whole lot of reasons,” chief recruiter Stephen Conole told a club podcast.
“We did the American trip (with) about 10 or 11 clubs over summer and to see his work, he’s a really outstanding young boy.”
A handful of recruiters yesterday had Rankine in pole position and long-time Hawthorn recruiter Gary Buckenara this week rated Lukosius No.1.
Some clubs have Lukosius a rung behind Walsh and Rankine, cautious his laconic ways could resemble 2008 No.1 pick Jack Watts.
And then there is Carlton’s list profile. Do the Blues need another goalkicker with Charlie Curnow, Mitch McGovern and Harry McKay on the books?
St Kilda list manager James Gallagher rates Lukosius as more than a key forward.
“There’s absolutely no doubt in my mind he can play centre half-back in the AFL as well,” Gallagher said.
Still, it probably leaves Rankine and Walsh jostling for the No.1 crown.
Walsh is the safe bet. He is the smooth-moving midfielder from Ocean Grove who would be the perfect midfield co-pilot for superstar Patrick Cripps.
“I think he’s the next Joel Selwood,” Geelong superstar Patrick Dangerfield said this year, having trained with Walsh last summer.
In Round 4, Walsh torched Eastern Ranges with 38 disposals, nine tackles, 199 SuperCoach points and a goal.
“He doesn’t seem to play a bad game — but they’re not just good games, they’re exceptional games,” Gallagher said.
And then there is Rankine — the only dual All-Australian in the draft — who can be twice as deadly from half the possessions.
“His speed and agility is exceptional, and he’s been playing senior footy for 2½ years,” Gallagher said.
“I was lucky enough to play with Andrew McLeod at Adelaide and there’s some similarities there.”
Rankine is the rock star of the crop.
His five-goal haul against Vic Metro this year dropped jaws at Marvel Stadium and won South Australia the championships.
One of seven siblings, he recently had a rose tattoo inked on his hand and has plans for more.
“I’m looking forward to getting my arm done and that,” Rankine said.
“I just like the look of it. You watch your idols like Cyril Rioli, he has a big tattoo on his chest and Chris Brown, a hip-hop artist, he has a lot of tattoos.”
But then while he has the pizzazz, Walsh has the character.
“We’ve already had seven AFL captains come through the (Geelong) Falcons and he’s probably in front of any of them at that age,” talent manager Michael Turner said.
The captains Turner says Walsh has covered as a teen include Luke Hodge, Jonathan Brown, Travis Boak and Nick Maxwell.
“He’s a no-risk player. He could play on a wing straight away,” he said.
And Walsh — a family friend of the McCartins, who had Tom drafted last year and Paddy at No.1 in 2014 — knows what to expect.
So, who will Carlton choose? The next Selwood? The next Riewoldt? Or the next McLeod?
It is such a choice Conole would not contemplate trading the No.1 pick.
“We’d be happy to take one of those boys,” he said.