Internal competition fires Docker
Fremantle forward Michael Walters says the disappointment of missing most of last season and the fear of someone taking his spot is what is driving him to take his game to new levels in 2015.
Walters has been the star of the Dockers' pre-season campaign to this point, impressing with his voice as much as with his fitness.
The 24-year-old today revealed he underwent minor shoulder surgery in December, keeping him sidelined for two weeks, but he has otherwise done as much training as anyone at the club, coming back earlier than required to get extra kilometres in his legs.
An ankle injury kept Walters to just eight games last year, but his contribution in the final rounds of the regular season was vital to Fremantle's top-four finish.
Despite finishing the season in good form personally, Walters said he felt he needed to offer the team more this time around.
"Considering missing most of last year I was a bit down on myself and for me to come back earlier, a week or two earlier, in pre-season with the younger boys, I felt I really had to do it and I sort of felt like I let myself down," he said.
"All the boys came back fit and firing and ready to go. You see Matt de Boer, Tendai Mzungu, guys like that are just non-stop training.
"Clancee Pearce is another one who didn't stop training.
"The team is going to be harder to break into this year… so for me that was the main drive behind coming back early."
Walters was mentioned as a leadership group candidate by teammate Michael Barlow earlier this week.
He said that wasn't necessarily an aim of his, but he enjoyed helping the younger players.
"I've been here seven years now and I feel like I need to step up. I'm 24 years of age and there's a lot of other younger boys in the team," he said.
"I don't see it as being a leader, I just see it as just giving advice and helping out and trying to make them as good a footy players as they've ever been.
"I don't see that as being a leader, I just see that as being a good bloke."
Walters was today unveiled as an ambassador for the State Government's One Life suicide prevention program.
He said personal tragedy and the fact the Aboriginal population have a higher rate of suicide than the WA average were behind his decision to get onboard.
"When I was younger, a couple of years ago, one of my close mates, I call him my brother boy, committed suicide and he was only young," he said.
"That's the reason why I want to be a part of this.
"At the funeral it really struck home. If only he spoke out maybe people would've known.
"Maybe we could've come to him and spoke to him.
"But no one really knows until it happens so the underlining point is to make sure you speak out and speak to anyone you can."
For more information, visit www.onelifewa.com.au .
