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Snap Shot is a weekly column taking a look at the lighter side of football.
Carlton star Sam Walsh has discovered there is nowhere to hide in finals footy.
Already this week the questions have come thick and fast about why the 23-year-old, who was best on ground in the Blues dramatic win over Melbourne, has the name of iconic luxury fashion house Dior printed on the front of his mouthguard.
Snap Shot, being a close observer of fashion, and a fan of spending squillions on bags and gloves and keeping up with haute-couture collections, just had to ask.
The truth is Walsh has been wearing the mouthguard for months, at least since he played against the Hawks on his 23rd birthday on July 2, and no one beyond his teammates noticed.
“With the mouthguards, they can do prints on them now and when I first got to the club, Marc Murphy and Zac Fisher had Supreme, a streetwear brand, [on their mouthguards]. I was just joking with those boys that I’ll get a high-end fashion one. That was, like, back in 2020,” Walsh said.
Sam Walsh flashes his “Dior” mouthguard after kicking a goal against the Demons.Credit: Jonathan Di Maggio
Walsh had the dentist print the word Dior on a white mouthguard then he stored it away, kept wearing a red mouthguard, and forgot all about it.
“Then I found it lying around and I was, like, ‘I might wear that in a game’,” Walsh said. “In the past couple of months I have been wearing it. It is amazing; with finals everyone has just got their eyes on you. I was a bit naive probably, thinking only blokes in my team would be able to read it.”
Of course the word became very visible when Walsh kicked the first of his two goals in the semi-final and celebrated with the trademark understated humour that has made him a popular teammate and player. It was a joke among teammates that was expressed in a moment of jubilation.
“The weather has been that good in Melbourne, so typical of a footy club [we] lick the finger [as if to] get a feel for the temperature [and say] ‘it’s finals footy’. It’s funny how when you have got adrenalin pumping how those things just kick in,” Walsh said of his goal celebration.
Spring is in the air: Walsh celebrates his goal.Credit: Jonathan Di Maggio
“It’s a bit of a carry on, but it’s been cool to bring in a few.”
While Walsh is a big name in town and has been lighting up the MCG, we are pretty sure he won’t be influencing the catwalks of Paris, and it’s unlikely Dior will release its own line of mouthguards any time soon. But we will check in during Melbourne Fashion Week in October to see whether anything is trending in that direction.
After all, Tom De Koning was the name on Robbie Williams’ lips after Friday night’s win, so perhaps Walsh can also make his mark in non-footy circles.
Dior did not wish to comment when contacted by The Age.
McCreery, the good driver in heavy traffic
Beau McCreery’s mum Julie put a smile on everyone’s face when she delivered a passionate pre-match address to his Collingwood teammates before their Mother’s Day clash against the Giants in May.
The Magpies went on to win the round nine clash by 65 points, but face a much tougher proposition in Friday night’s preliminary final.
McCreery was proud of his mum’s effort and surprised she had not had a couple of cheeky drinks at the Mother’s Day lunch to knock the edge off any nerves.
“She obviously killed it. She’s the best,” McCreery said.
Of course, we imagine Julie would have had a few nervous moments ahead of last year’s preliminary final in Sydney when her son and teammate Josh Carmichael were involved in a car accident on the Monash Freeway on their way to Tullamarine Airport.
Thankfully, no one was hurt and McCreery could laugh as he revealed to Snap Shot revised plans ahead of this year’s encounter at the MCG.
“I will be driving myself this time. I won’t be getting Josh to drive me. One hundred percent I’ll be driving myself. [I] take pride in my driving, so I’ll be driving for sure,” McCreery said.
On the coach’s whiteboard
Before you go, here are …
Five key lines Snap Shot believes the Melbourne match committee might have used to convince themselves to make Josh Schache the sub for Friday night’s semi-final.
They said
“Commercially it’s a great deal for Tasmanians. People have different views.” – Gillon McLachlan on the AFL’s deal with the Tasmanian government to underpin a 19th AFL team in Tasmania
But they forgot to say
“Commercially it’s a great deal for Tasmanians. People have different views … not many have the view from the premier’s office in Hobart. Can’t they appreciate what Marvel Stadium has done for the Docklands.”
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