Mitch wallis rising star nominee

[LostDoggy]

Just tweeted by Patrick Keane

[chef]

Excellent news. I was pleasantly surprise by how well he played on the weekend.

[dogman]

Excellent news. I was pleasantly surprise by how well he played on the weekend.

Easily his best game for the club.

[LostDoggy]

Same Chef! So good to see him rewarded with his efforts Sunday.

[Go_Dogs]

Well done to Mitch, good game on the weekend and hopefully his form continues.

[Hotdog60]

From the AFL site LINK (http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/133893/default.aspx)

http://mm.afl.com.au/Portals/0/images/AFL/AFL%20U-Z/MW378u.jpg

THERE are few football experiences Mitch Wallis hasn't shared with Tom Liberatore but a NAB AFL Rising Star nomination is one of them.

Liberatore was one of the most impressive first-year players last year, playing 16 games in a season where he was widely considered to be unlucky not to be nominated for the award.

Wallis had a quieter debut season but looks set to have a bigger second year after earning the nomination for his 22-possession game against Melbourne on Sunday.

The 19-year-old Wallis said he looked up to his junior teammate, schoolmate and best friend for what he achieved in 2011.

"I'm definitely proud of him because he's my best mate. We're always competitive growing up but we were always on the same teams so that helped us out," Wallis told AFL.com.au.

"To see how well he's gone, I couldn't be happier. He has set the benchmark and hopefully this year I can do some of the things he achieved last year.

"I marvel at the work he does and hopefully we can start playing together more often."

While playing more VFL than AFL last season, Wallis said he learned plenty about what he needed to make it at the elite level.

An off-season focus on his defensive spread, finding his opponent and narrowing his focus in pursuit of the contested ball could see him set for more regular senior action.

Wallis credits new assistant coaches Steven King and Shannon Grant with his development but says the main influence has been new senior coach Brendan McCartney.

"The best thing about 'Macca' is he has time for everyone and I've noticed that from the day he started, he always has time to talk to you, focus on your strengths and weaknesses but he has been pretty strong on his methods of contested ball and teaching the game from the contest out," he said.

Wallis said McCartney's emphasis on education had been vital.

"You can see he has come from a learning background because coming to a new club is all about education to begin with and learning the new game-plan, the new style and structure but he does have the ability to connect with all the players on the playing list whether that is the oldest bloke or the youngest bloke on the list," he said.

The main influence on Wallis' football career has been his father, former Bulldogs captain Steven Wallis who coached him throughout his junior days.

With Liberatore and Ayce Cordy also coming to the club via the father-son rule, the Bulldogs have a definite sense of history repeating. And there could be yet another father-son recruit on the way with Wallis' 16-year old brother Josh coming through the system.

Mitch Wallis said it is not out of the question that the pair could be lining up for the same team in the future.

"He is having a bit of fun with his footy," he said.

"He is at that stage now where he has to make a decision whether he wants it or not because he's definitely got the ability and now it is just about making sacrifices and things like that."

[Murphy'sLore]

Congratulations, Mitch.

[bornadog]

Well done to Mitch and hopefully his brother will be with us soon.

[Bulldog Revolution]

Well done to Mitch and hopefully his brother will be with us soon.

Yep, well said

Great news for Mitch, and would be terrific to have another

[Murphy'sLore]

Let's hope Josh has some of those silky skills we need...

[LostDoggy]

Nice one, what a pleasant surprise!

[SlimPickens]

Great news and very well deserved after a very solid game on Sunday.

[G-Mo77]

Well done Mitch!

Very happy with this news this morning.

[LostDoggy]

I'm pleased for Mitch, but this is a classic case of the Rising Star (and the judgment of the footy community generally) being based on perception, not fact. Wallis being a first round draft pick was always seen superficially by the wider media as a 'better' player than Libba, so Libba's entire first year (which was better than anything Mitch has yet dished up) didn't even get a sniff, but the first decent game Mitch serves up he gets a gong as he's already on the radar.

I hope Mitch knows the award is meaningless and keeps on keeping on.

[LostDoggy]

Congrats Mitch. Thoroughly deserved.

[Dazza]

Jesus we are going to have a team full of sons soon.

[Dogmatic]

Jesus we are going to have a team full of sons soon.

Let's hope there were a few sons in the making on Sunday night after the win.

[bornadog]

Jesus we are going to have a team full of sons soon.

Mantis can't wait for a baby Eagleton:D

[LostDoggy]

The judging of this award continues to confuse me.

Mitch played his best game with the club on Sunday, but nothing to bring the house down. Libba played some rippers last year and simply didnt get a look-in with the Rising Star Award and Clay Smith had a great game first up this year with four goals and plenty of possessions and was overlooked.

I gotta say, it doesn't really mean much because it seems to be an award that is dished out willy nilly.

[Raw Toast]

Personally I think Wallis deserved it and he has my congratulations. He was immense at times, he got the ball out of packs time after time, showed fantastic desperation, laid some super tackles, including the most vital tackle of the game, and positioned himself nicely to be able to frequently hand the ball off to players running past.

This doesn't take away from the fact that Tom Liberatore clearly deserved it last year and Smith could lay a claim with his first game.

[jeemak]

Very happy for Mitch. Was very impressed with his humility in his comments when it came to Liberatore.

This might be the spur a player that was heaped with expectation might need to get things rolling. It would have been hard coming to the club as a first rounder and seeing your supposedly inferiour counterpart doing better than you, especially when that counterpart was one of your very good mates.

All players need confidence on the back of recognition for solid performances. Hopefully Mitch runs with it from now.

[LostDoggy]

Congratulations Mitch! No to take anything away from this nomination, but it sure makes me scratch my head in confusion as to why Libba and even Clay Smith didn't get a gong? I wonder how they judge this.......:confused:

[LostDoggy]

Congrats to Mitch. He can't run, kick, mark or handball (in the elite sense) but his determination, courage and footy instincts will ensure he has a long distinguished career. I've never had any doubts he'll make it because you can see that steely look in his eyes.

Regarding the other comments on Smith and Libba. Libba will be excellent, we all know that. He was unlucky that his big games had other players play just as good a game in that round. Then it becomes a coin toss and all opinion. Smith had a big game in Round 1 but we've seen plenty of players be excellent first up and end up on the scrap heap pretty quickly. I'm not sold on him yet. Has a bit of the Rhys Palmers about him

[ledge]

Congrats to Mitch. He can't run, kick, mark or handball (in the elite sense) but his determination, courage and footy instincts will ensure he has a long distinguished career. I've never had any doubts he'll make it because you can see that steely look in his eyes.

Regarding the other comments on Smith and Libba. Libba will be excellent, we all know that. He was unlucky that his big games had other players play just as good a game in that round. Then it becomes a coin toss and all opinion. Smith had a big game in Round 1 but we've seen plenty of players be excellent first up and end up on the scrap heap pretty quickly. I'm not sold on him yet. Has a bit of the Rhys Palmers about him

Gee your critical, think you need to watch his handballing, while in the middle of a pack getting held onto, he can certainly get it out and find a player.
Only thing i see wrong at the minute is his kicking to a team mate but that will come.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Congratsulations to Wallis, he was very good on Sunday. Thought his positioning at contests was good, he read the play, he was tough in the contest, applied good defensive pressure and most of all -- his skills by hand and foot were much better.

Keep it up, Mitch!

[Ozza]

Gee your critical, think you need to watch his handballing, while in the middle of a pack getting held onto, he can certainly get it out and find a player.
Only thing i see wrong at the minute is his kicking to a team mate but that will come.

One that comes to mind was a handball where he was on his knees on the half forward flank and looped it over the congestion to a team mate running into goal. Was brilliant vision from where he was.

[MrMahatma]

Seeing these kids improve will be at least something Macca can point to by way of progress, even if we have a barren year on the win front.

Congrats Mitch. Keep up the good work.