As a 16-year-old, his first taste of senior football was in a team which lost almost every week and finished rock-bottom of the Hume league in 2016.

Walsh decided to walk away from the game and didn't play the following year - only for the footy bug to bite him again.

He put the boots back on and it proved to be an inspired decision.

Walsh became a dominant force in the Brookers' reserves and he's now made himself a fixture in the senior side chasing a first premiership since 2004.

"In my final year of under-17s, I played the last three games of the year in the seniors," Walsh recalled.

"That year, we really struggled. We got the wooden spoon and after that, I had a year off footy. I decided to have a break but I really missed it.

"I came back the next year and played seconds.

"Skills was the big thing I noticed, not doing it. It took a bit to get them back but I won the best-and-fairest."

It was time for a conversation with senior coach Matt Sharp.

"I gave him a call in pre-season," Sharp said.

"I said 'what's your feeling, are you ready to take the next step?' and ever since that day, Cooper hasn't looked back.

"He's always taken the number one small forward and we have nothing but full trust in him to lock down.

"He's even added another trick to his game now, zoning off and taking intercept marks.

"You won't hear about him but in terms of our belief in Cooper, he's highly-rated.

"He just goes about his business quietly.

"He gives 100 percent at every contest and every opportunity he gets."

Walsh has only missed two games all season and was voted the Brookers' best in their big win over Billabong Crows earlier this month.

His development under Sharp has vindicated the decision to step up in 2021.

"It was the right time," Walsh reflected.

"I could have just kept going in the twos but I wanted to test myself and see how I went at the higher level.

"It is a big difference, with the pace of the game and the skill level of the players around you but I feel I have improved.

ALSO IN SPORT

"It's a great place to be at the minute. I love it. It's nice winning.

"Sharpy's got us playing a pretty good brand of footy, our game style, and it's working.

"He's always there for individual feedback. A couple of weeks ago, he did some reviews and told us how we were going.

"He wanted us to have a goal, between now and the end of the season, and my goal is to maintain my spot.

"We've got great depth this year so there's no spot given, it's all earned.

"There's three or four blokes in the twos missing out each week, which is a good position (for the club) to be in.

"It's good to have pressure like that because it gets blokes to training."

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