Tristen Walker (born 11 April 1984) is a former

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 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 ...

. From Claremont, Walker was picked up by Collingwood late in the 2001 National Draft. After playing his first season with Williamstown, he made his debut in 2003 in Round 1. Forced to play at fullback, due to the absence of

Simon Prestigiacomo Simon 'Presti' Prestigiacomo (born 31 January 1978) is a retired Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League. Playing career Early career: forward line As a tall youngster that w ...

, he held superstar spearhead Matthew Richardson of

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

to one goal and six behinds. He was dropped soon after, before impressing in the latter stages of the season, winning a reprieve for the 2003 Grand Final due to the suspension of key forward

Anthony Rocca Anthony Rocca (born 15 August 1977) is a former Australian rules footballer who has played with the Sydney Swans and Collingwood in the Australian Football League. Rocca is currently serving as North Melbourne's development coach. Sydney ...

for striking Port Adelaide ruckman Brendan Lade late in the first quarter of Collingwood's stunning 44-point defeat of the Power in the Preliminary Final a week earlier, Walker bypassing the more experienced

Jarrod Molloy Jarrod Molloy (born 12 May 1976) is a former Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League. A key position player, Molloy was trialled in both attack and defence as his career progressed, with most success enjoyed near the go ...

and Steve McKee to gain selection. Having played in the Williamstown premiership side the week prior in the VFL, it appeared that Walker was on track to record two flags in as many weeks, though the Magpies ultimately fell to a heavy 50-point loss to the

Brisbane Lions The Brisbane Lions is a professional Australian rules football club based in Brisbane, Queensland, that plays in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club was formed in late 1996 via a merger of the Melbourne-based 1883 foundation VFL c ...

. Walker was again unable to reach a consistent pattern of form throughout 2004 and 2005, though arguably his inability to nail down a place in the senior side could be partially attributed to his struggle to find a key position to call his own, be it at centre half forward, or centre half back. He was fortunate to remain on the list despite a sizeable cull at the end of the 2005 season, though his AFL career was terminated 12 months later, after failing to appear in the senior side in 2006, his final match arising in round 17 of the previous year against St Kilda under the Friday night lights of Telstra Dome.

External links

Tristen Walker at the Collingwood Football Club website
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Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Tristen 1984 births Collingwood Football Club players Claremont Football Club players Williamstown Football Club players Living people People educated at Newman College, Perth Australian rules footballers from Perth, Western Australia