No rush with Kingdom hero Walsh, insists St Kilda chief

ST KILDA chief executive Michael Nettlefold has admitted that the AFL side expects great things from Tommy Walsh – but not in the immediate future.

The former Young Footballer of the Year’s switch to the oval code has generated huge interest in Ireland and in Australia and there was even talk of the Kerry man being pitched in for his new club’s first pre-season game last month.

That didn’t transpire and Nettlefold’s reasoning explains why.

“We think he is going to make an outstanding AFL footballer but it is going to take a period of time. If you ask Tommy, his immediate observation about the game in Australia was the intensity of training.

“He found that change in dynamic quite different and you have got to be physically prepared to even do the training. It’s been a step up.

“We get something like in excess of 100 player rotations in the game. You get a lot of players coming off the ground and going back on the ground quite quickly so that all needs to be factored into the physical preparation work.”

Walsh has adapted well. He has stripped five kilos from his fighting weight after the first few weeks of conditioning and life off the field has begun to take shape as well with news that his girlfriend has also moved to Melbourne.

All in all, keeping a lid on expectations may be St Kilda’s toughest battle after Nettlefold revealed how the crowd cheered every time the Irishman took possession in a recent inter-club practise match.

“We are taking Tommy very quietly at the moment. There is a lot of expectation on Tommy in Australia. There is a lot of press. There are a lot of demands being placed on him and it is one of the reasons why we need to take very much a medium-term approach with Tommy.

“Make sure he has got the skills, that he settles in properly, so that he can understand the rules, read the game, the oval ball, the way it bounces compared to the round ball. It is going to take him a little while. We are very conscious of that.”