Andrew Walker (born 18 May 1986) is a former professional

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er who played with the

Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club, nicknamed the Blues, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's top professional competition. Founded in 1864 in Carlton, an inner suburb of Mel ...

in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...

(AFL).

Early life

Andrew has

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

heritage and his tribal ancestry can be traced to the

Yorta Yorta The Yorta Yorta, also known as Jotijota, are an Aboriginal Australian people who have traditionally inhabited the area surrounding the junction of the Goulburn and Murray Rivers in present-day north-eastern Victoria and southern New South Wales ...

. He played his early career in country football and represented

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, makin ...

in the

TAC Cup The NAB League Boys (also referred to as simply the NAB League and formerly known as the TAC Cup) is an under-19 Australian rules football representative competition held in Australia. It is based on geographic regions throughout country Victo ...

before catching the eye of talent scouts. He was educated at St Joseph's College Echuca and Caulfield Grammar School and graduated in 2004.

AFL career

Walker was taken with Carlton's priority draft pick, the second pick overall, in the 2003 National Draft. Walker was Carlton's only high draft pick in either

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

or 2003, as the club was stripped of its early selections in those drafts due to salary cap breaches. He was given Carlton champion

Stephen Silvagni Stephen Silvagni (born 31 May 1967) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). As the second member of three generations of Silvagnis to represent the Blues, he is ...

's guernsey, number 1, after its two-year retirement. Andrew was a bottom-aged player in the 2003 Draft, and studied Year 12 –

Victorian Certificate of Education The Victorian Certificate of Education (often abbreviated VCE) is one credential available to secondary school students who successfully complete year 11 and 12 in the Australian state of Victoria. The VCE is the predominant choice for students ...

– during his debut year, at

Caulfield Grammar School Caulfield Grammar School is an Independent school, independent, co-educational, Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican, International Baccalaureate, day school, day and boarding school, located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1881 as ...

. Walker made his debut in round 5, 2004, in

Carlton Carlton may refer to: People * Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname * Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy * Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian ...

's win over

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

Optus Oval Princes Park (or Carlton Recreation Ground, currently known by its sponsored name Ikon Park) is an Australian rules football ground located inside the wider Princes Park in the inner Melbourne suburb of Carlton North. It is a historic venue, ...

, a performance that was considered one of the greatest debuts ever by a young player. In that game, he amassed 26 disposals, assisted three goals, and flew for what may well have been

Mark of the Year The annual Australian Football League Mark of the Year competition (currently also known as the Four'N Twenty AFL Mark of the Year) is a sporting award that celebrates each season's best mark. A mark is the action of a player cleanly catchin ...

had he held on to the ball. Walker earned a Rising Star Award nomination, and one

Brownlow Medal The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as "Charlie"), is awarded to the " best and fairest" player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by ...

vote, his career first, for that performance. For the rest of 2004 and 2005, Andrew struggled to reproduce the stunning form he displayed on debut, and it wasn't until 2006 that he started to play consistent football for the Carlton senior side. In 2006, Andrew had a number of very successful games as a tagger (often tagging the opposition's premier midfielder), and also provided much run off half back. Andrew's good 2006 was acknowledged by the club with a top-10 placing in the club's best-and-fairest award. In 2007, Walker continued to develop as a footballer, and moved into Carlton's midfield where he uses his pace and ball-carrying ability. In mid-2007, he signed a deal tying him to the club until 2009. Walker's 2008 and 2009 seasons were severely limited by a shoulder injury. He initially injured the shoulder in 2008 pre-season training; he recuperated without surgery to play in Carlton's pre-season games, but injured it again in the Blues' final practice match, requiring a reconstruction which prevented him from playing until round 16. He injured it again at the start of 2009, requiring another operation and preventing him from playing until round 18. Walker managed only thirteen matches for the two seasons. He was one of a number of Carlton players involved in off-field incidents following a 2009

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

party. According to various sources, one of the players was arguing with a woman before a fight broke out between the teammates that ended up involving hotel staff. A security guard also became involved before police arrived as the fight was brought under control. Walker was escorted off the

Crown Melbourne Crown Melbourne (also referred to as Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex) is a casino and resort located on the south bank of the Yarra River, in Melbourne, Australia. Crown Casino is a unit of Crown Limited, and the first casino of the n ...

premises. He was then fined and suspended from pre-season training for a month. They were sent to a boxing gym and underwent a strenuous training program. After finally returning to regular game-time in 2010, Walker was struggling to hold his place in the team as a midfielder/utility on form. Carlton sought interest from other clubs during the 2010 trade week, but ultimately no trade was negotiated and he remained at Carlton. In 2011, he re-established himself as a key member of Carlton's senior team, in a new position as a key forward. He played all 24 games for the season, and kicked 56 goals to be the club's leading goalkicker, and finished sixth in the best and fairest. Additionally, in round 18 against Essendon, Walker took a huge

specky A spectacular mark (also known as a specky, speckie, speccy, screamer or hanger) is a mark (or catch) in Australian rules football that typically involves a player jumping up on the back of another player. The spectacular mark has become a much ...

over Essendon player

Jake Carlisle Jake Carlisle (born 1 October 1991) is a professional Australian rules footballer who played 66 games for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL) until his retirement at the end of the 2021 season. He previously pl ...

, which was considered by many football observers, including ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

s Rohan Connolly, and both match-day coaches,

Brett Ratten Brett Ratten (born 11 July 1971) is an Australian rules football coach and former player in the Australian Football League (AFL). He played 255 games for the Carlton Football Club between 1990 and 2003, including the club's 1995 premiership. He ...

and

James Hird James Albert Hird (born 4 February 1973) is a former professional Australian rules football player and past senior coach of the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Hird played as a midfielder and half-forward, but h ...

, to be one of the greatest marks of all-time – although ultimately it did not win the season's

award. He was awarded life membership of the Carlton Football Club in December 2011. In June 2014, Walker suffered a knee injury which ruled him out for the remainder of the season and dogged him for the rest of his career. Despite this, in July 2016 he became the first Aboriginal footballer to play 200 games for Carlton, reaching the milestone in their round 15 loss to . In the following months, he continued to struggle with injury, and in August announced his intention to retire after the round 20 match against at the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadiu ...

Statistics

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2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, , 1 , , 15 , , 2 , , 4 , , 97 , , 45 , , 142 , , 41 , , 21 , , 0.1 , , 0.3 , , 6.5 , , 3.0 , , 9.5 , , 2.7 , , 1.4 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, , 1 , , 18 , , 6 , , 1 , , 123 , , 54 , , 177 , , 44 , , 37 , , 0.3 , , 0.1 , , 6.8 , , 3.0 , , 9.8 , , 2.4 , , 2.1 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, , 1 , , 22 , , 6 , , 6 , , 270 , , 112 , , 382 , , 118 , , 40 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 12.3 , , 5.1 , , 17.4 , , 5.4 , , 1.8 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

, , 1 , , 19 , , 10 , , 7 , , 252 , , 139 , , 391 , , 91 , , 48 , , 0.5 , , 0.4 , , 13.3 , , 7.3 , , 20.6 , , 4.8 , , 2.5 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, , 1 , , 7 , , 6 , , 2 , , 87 , , 51 , , 138 , , 44 , , 20 , , 0.9 , , 0.3 , , 12.4 , , 7.3 , , 19.7 , , 6.3 , , 2.9 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, , 1 , , 6 , , 2 , , 3 , , 63 , , 49 , , 112 , , 33 , , 7 , , 0.3 , , 0.5 , , 10.5 , , 8.2 , , 18.7 , , 5.5 , , 1.2 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, , 1 , , 16 , , 5 , , 4 , , 203 , , 131 , , 334 , , 97 , , 22 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 12.7 , , 8.2 , , 20.9 , , 6.1 , , 1.4 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, , 1 , , 24 , , 56 , , 27 , , 238 , , 111 , , 349 , , 111 , , 62 , , 2.3 , , 1.1 , , 9.9 , , 4.6 , , 14.5 , , 4.6 , , 2.6 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, , 1 , , 15 , , 16 , , 11 , , 169 , , 106 , , 275 , , 56 , , 36 , , 1.1 , , 0.7 , , 11.3 , , 7.1 , , 18.3 , , 3.7 , , 2.4 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, , 1 , , 23 , , 7 , , 3 , , 398 , , 130 , , 528 , , 102 , , 48 , , 0.3 , , 0.1 , , 17.3 , , 5.7 , , 23.0 , , 4.4 , , 2.1 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, , 1 , , 14 , , 2 , , 2 , , 223 , , 92 , , 315 , , 71 , , 28 , , 0.1 , , 0.1 , , 15.9 , , 6.6 , , 22.5 , , 5.1 , , 2.0 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, , 1 , , 12 , , 12 , , 6 , , 106 , , 57 , , 163 , , 48 , , 22 , , 1.0 , , 0.5 , , 8.8 , , 4.8 , , 13.6 , , 4.0 , , 1.8 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, , 1 , , 11 , , 9 , , 8 , , 77 , , 53 , , 130 , , 34 , , 25 , , 0.8 , , 0.7 , , 7.0 , , 4.8 , , 11.8 , , 3.1 , , 2.3 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 202 ! 139 ! 84 ! 2306 ! 1130 ! 3436 ! 890 ! 416 ! 0.7 ! 0.4 ! 11.4 ! 5.6 ! 17.0 ! 4.4 ! 2.1

Personal life

Following his retirement, Walker was engaged by Carlton as a "Development & Integration" coach, specialising in helping first year players in their transition to becoming professional footballers. He and his wife Kylie have three children, boys Cody Jay and Arli, and daughter Leti.

References

External links