Best player of the final:
Walsh wins the 2023 Gary Ayres Award
Best player of the final:
Walsh wins the 2023 Gary Ayres Award
Sam Walsh was awarded the best player of the 2023 final.
SAM Walsh’s superb September has been recognised, with the star midfielder winning the 2023 Gary Ayres Award.
Voted by AFL coaches, the Gary Ayres Award was establis
hed in 2016 and uses a similar voting method to the Premiership Player of the Year award, with coaches competing for each match missed The vote was 5-4 -3-2-1. base.
Walsh’s September was so prolific that he became the first Gary Ayres Award winner whose team failed to qualify for the final, such was his impact in the first three weeks.
Returning on matchday 24 after a hamstring injury, Walsh wasted no time in further improving his position in the league with what he has done in football’s biggest month, starting with 29 kills – and a decisive late goal – against Sydney in the final knockout round. He backed that up and raised the bar again the following week, producing a clearly better performance on the field against Melbourne in one of Carlton’s most famous victories. That night, Walsh received a perfect 10 votes for his outstanding individual performance, making 34 clearances and scoring two decisive goals in the Blues’ last-gasp victory over the Dees.
When Carlton’s finals game ended the following week against Brisbane, Walsh again led the way with 33 disposals at the Gabba. It was a mark of his consistency that he achieved a record number of dismissals in his three matches and was the No. 1 elimination winner in September across all eight clubs .
He is the first player to win the Gary Ayres Award in his inaugural finals campaign, alongside the 2019 AFL Rising Star, 2019 AFLPA First Year Player of the Year, 2020 AFLCA Young Player of the Year, 2021 John Nicholls Medal and 2021 All-Australian title.
“Competing on the big stage is all about preparation and I have seen very few players do it at the level of Sam Walsh,” Carlton AFL senior coach Michael Voss said.
“As a team, we talked about ‘being in the moment’ and Sam certainly did that. People often focus on what he can do with the ball, but we really appreciate his selflessness. His defensive work, what he does to make his teammates better – he leads from the front in those areas.
His leadership when the pressure was at its highest was another shining element of his
performance, something he should be proud of and can build on moving forward.
“Sam is not a player who only focuses on individual awards, but to be named the tournament’s best player in the final, in your first finals series, is an achievement. Achievements worthy of recognition:
There is no doubt that everyone at Carlton is proud of what Sam has achieved.
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