Mitch Wallis has played various roles over the past few seasons and 2016 may see his role evolve even more, on the back of changes announced by the AFL in September around reduced interchange rotations.
In 2014 Wallis was lauded for his run-with work. His blocking, tackling and ability to clear space around the stoppages saw the then 22-year-old emerge as a key ingredient of the young Bulldog midfield. In 2015, under first year coach Luke Beveridge, Wallis excelled as an attacking midfielder, finishing atop the Bulldogs leader board in the AFL Coaches Association Player of the Year award ahead of Marcus Bontempelli and Jake Stringer.
While he expects to spend plenty of time in the middle this coming season, Wallis has been looking to add new dimensions to his game as more time in the forward line beckons.
“The tank, speed and agility, a whole range of things, just total footy.
“But with less interchanges this year I’ll probably spend more time forward, so my forward craft and hopefully kicking a few more goals and taking some marks on leads.”
While Wallis used the break for some quality beach time with family and friends it wasn’t all sand and surf for the 23-year-old, with training still very high on the agenda.
“The break was really good – it was really quick, we had a couple of hot days in there – I spent a bit of time at the beach with my family and my girlfriend. Glad to be back but I did enjoy a couple of weeks off,” he said.
“You do a lot of good work pre-Christmas so you don’t want to lose all that over your break.
“We had a few long sessions, a few speed and endurance sessions just to make sure we keep at it and keep our fitness base right up.”
It’s hard to believe at such a young age Wallis is one of the older heads of the Bulldog midfield brigade and while he prides himself on his leadership ability, he sees it as a shared responsibility throughout the group.
“There’s so many midfielders that go through there – I’m probably one of the more constant people in there but it was the roles that everyone was playing was why we were going so well whether that be Jakey Stringer or Lukey Dahlhaus coming up or someone like Webby who pitched in every now and then.
“There’s just so many people going through there with different responsibilities. It’s a really good place to be at.”
Asked if he’s given much thought to that moment when the first ball is bounced in just over a month, the #3 couldn’t contain his enthusiasm.
“I can’t wait. You can only train so much until you want to play. It’s coming around pretty quick, I think February 28 is our first hit out in the NAB, so looking forward to that date.”
