Peel rookie off to Carlton Blues
New Carlton recruit Brad Walsh said he was "absolutely thrilled" when he saw his name come up on the computer screen, telling him he was officially an AFL player.
"We couldn't really believe it when the name came up, we were just absolutely thrilled," Walsh said.
"Mum was in tears straight away, Dad was absolutely rapt and I was speechless."
Walsh always showed he was capable of making it to the highest level, making his league debut for Peel Thunder in 2013 at 16 years old, and averaging 17 disposals a game.
His leadership was a major asset heading into the rookie draft, after he captained the WA under-18 side at the national championships earlier this year.
Walsh said he couldn't wait to start training and playing alongside the likes of Blues stars Chris Judd and Marc Murphy.
"Just to be able to train alongside them and soak up some of the experience and knowledge they have in the game will just be amazing as well," he said.
"They are all great leaders, and I like to think leadership as one of my strengths of character."
Like a number of his new teammates, Walsh has to adapt to a new lifestyle living away from home for the majority of the year.
Walsh said it would take time to adapt to living in Melbourne, but was fortunate to have host families to help him in his first year in the AFL.
"It's a completely different environment - I don't have any family over here whatsoever, but I know I can call home and they will support me," he said.
"After Christmas, I'll be in with a host family, so I will be getting used to living with different families and different people.
"It's a big change."
Walsh said the experience of playing alongside some of the Fremantle Dockers players at the Thunder would hold him in good stead in his AFL debut.
"I was lucky enough to spend a few years with the seniors with a lot of the Fremantle players," he said.
"Definitely the way they handle themselves, not only on field but off field, is something that helped me.
"Just the way they prepare themselves, it was a huge learning curve for me."
Thunder coach Cameron Shepherd said Walsh's drafting was a credit to the program in place at the WAFL club.
"It all worked out nicely for Brad, going to a wonderful club like Carlton is reward for effort," Shepherd said.
"We are really pleased for him and our club that another one has gone to the AFL.
"We believe that with our development program and the coaches in place developing our young players coming through, they will get every opportunity to be picked up like many Peel players have in the past."
