The full-forward needs 70 goals to eclipse the 1000 mark in his 10th AFL Cairns season and admitted the record enticed him to go around again in what could potentially be his Far North swan song.
The prolific 35-year-old said he had nothing left to prove after moving here a decade ago for what was meant to be a one-season stint.
But 143 games later he has met his wife and settled in Edge Hill with children Ella and Jett.
Still, Walsh said he thought carefully when offered “good money down south” to fly in and out to play every weekend this season.
However, the love for his club, the lure of a league-first 1000 goals and a sense of a job not yet done after last season’s grand final loss means the St Augustine’s head of sport will be at the pointy end of Saints’ list to play Cairns City Lions in round one on Saturday.
“I was definitely thinking about retiring, but you want to go out on a high and losing changed my plans,” he said. “Now this 1000 goals is a bit of a focus for me too.
“I had some good offers in the off-season to play down south, too, and I nearly did it – it was going to be the next challenge for me.
“But we have a good list this year, I love the club and you are a long time retired.”
Saints, who beat minor premiers Souths to reach last season’s decider before losing to red hot Port Douglas, will be among the favourites for a flag in 2015.
Walsh rates the squad as good, if not better than last season’s as he hunts a sixth premiership.
“We’ve kept the core group and filled the vacancies with some pretty handy pick-ups; on paper we are strong,” he said. “(Player-coach) Zac Kelly’s a breath of fresh air – I think he’s going to bring a hard edge that we may have lacked and some new, bigger-bodied players should help in that area, too.”
And while the engine room is well stocked it will be Walsh, who now qualifies for Masters tournaments, they rely on again to spearhead the attack.
If he sticks to his average of about 6.5 goals per game the full forward should notch the milestone against the Lions when they return to Holloways Beach in round 11.
Injuries have been the only thing that have stopped him from booting bulk majors in the last decade, with his only low-output seasons coming when he played 10 or less games in 2010 and 2011.
In 2009 he managed 93 goals in just 14 games, while his record-breaking 142 goal season in 2012 is the high water mark for any aspiring forward in the league.
“I hope my body holds up and I can get there,” he said.
“The boys talk about it and keep reminding me at training – it’s probably been achieved a few times, but never in Cairns. But I don’t really feel pressure about it; I just head in with an open mind and just enjoy it.”
Article Courtesy of Murray Wenzel Cairns Post
Last Modified on 10/04/2015 14:55