I put in the hard work over the off-season (break)," Walters said. Dockers coach Ross Lyon declares that Walters will be "unleashed" for the game against the Hawks at Patersons Stadium next Sunday. I don't want the same thing that happened to me happen to him as well so I'm trying to help him out as much as I can," Walters said about Simpson.Simpson, from the remote town of Yalgoo, 500km north-east of Perth, was taken by Fremantle with pick No.17 in the 2012 NAB AFL draft.He suffered from homesickness during his first season at AFL level but did make his debut in round 23 against St Kilda, his only game of the season.After Simpson battled through the first week of the pre-season, Walters believed the 19-year-old had begun responding to the advice from the senior players. Fremantle has admitted two of its players, Des Headland and Michael Walters, are being investigated by police following a Saturday night incident. Fremantle has confirmed Michael Walters' season is over after he suffered a minor tear to the posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee late in Fremantle's loss to Hawthorn.

"We're all excited.

He's a great trainer and a great leader. "He's an incredible trainer, he's one of our real on-field leaders and when we're under pressure, like in the 2013 Grand Final … he's only 174cm and we put him to full forward, he takes a huge mark and kicks a clutch goal. "If you were to ask me [a year ago] where I would be in 12 months, I wouldn't have said I'd be back here playing AFL footy," Walters said. "It's pretty exciting for myself. Arguably, his best performance came in Round 13 when Fremantle played Port Adelaide at Optus stadium. Michael Walters is on track to make a surprise early return from a serious ankle injury. Clearly for a period as a young person he was indulging. He was a finalist for mark of the year, where he was nominated for his high-flying mark on Jeremy McGovern, against West Coast in Round 20. There's a spot in there, but we've got a lot of young players that can come in and fill that as well," Walters said.

"At this stage the medical advice is that we should wait a week to 10 days to allow the swelling in Michael's ankle to subside before having further scans," Fremantle's football operations manager Chris Bond said in a club statement.

Nat Fyfe will lead the Dockers for a third season as skipper in 2019, while Joel Hamling joins off-season recruit Reece Conca as a new leader, with David Mundy, Michael Walters and Alex Pearce making up the rest of the group. "Col came over as a 10-year mature age free agent, so the expectations were a little bit higher on Col."Not by standards but in the ability to be able to do it straight away. "He's running. "He's a massive element to our forward line with his pressure and nous around goal," Ballantyne said. Share prices may rise, fall … In 2015, he had another consistent goal-kicking season, which saw him kick 44 goals across 22 games, winning his second Fremantle leading goal-kicker award.

"The risk from here is a soft tissue (injury). "We've got a situation where the majority of the playing group are weighing in in that area, and he's on the outer," McPharlin said. "You give him half a second and he'll kick a goal nine times out of 10. In 2018, especially after the suspension and subsequent injury to Nat Fyfe, Walters spent increasing amounts of time in the midfield, where he finished the season averaging 19.8 disposals per game, his highest average in his career so far. Leading goalkicker Michael Walters finished third. But the way it's tracking he might get four or five games in the home and away season." Michael Walters says becoming more mature when his career was at the crossroads was the catalyst for his elevation to Fremantle's leadership group. In the 2017 season, his standout performance came in Round 15, at Domain stadium against St. Kilda, where he collected a team-high 32 disposals and kicked 6 goals. Height: 178cm     "Actually, I was pretty honest with 'Sonny' (Walters), I pretty much told him straight away, so Sonny's known since halfway through the year," Hill said. "Ross was one of those guys for all the players where you can walk up to, you can feel comfortable talking to him about anything. "I think it's a great decision by the playing group to stick with the exact leadership group in 2020," Fyfe said. "I've been here seven years now and I feel like I need to step up," Walters said. "He embraces discipline rather than indulging himself. "He was filthy on himself. "I have been here seven years but I still feel I have got a lot of room to improve in all aspects of footy, and to learn off boys like Buddy Franklin and boys like Cyril Rioli, hopefully I can learn a lot more." "He does weird things where he can kick the ball from the pocket or step two or three players, just driving the ball off his opposite foot and kicking the goal. I could train now if I wanted to but the club's just being cautious and easing me in. "So I think my family was a big part, with a lot of help from everyone at the footy club." Michael Walters will require surgery on his injured left ankle. Age: 29yr 7mth    Games: 160     Born: January 7, 1991     Michael Walters has emerged as a potential leader at Fremantle, according to teammate Michael Barlow. "Michael's become an important player for the team and we look forward to a successful contribution from him again in 2013," Fremantle's general manager of player management Brad Lloyd said. Walters reflected on Lyon's decision to send him back to train at Swan Districts as an overweight 21-year-old in 2012 as a turning point. Michael Walters is hopeful he can play again this season, but admits he faces a fight to keep out the mental demons. Michael Walters has urged Fremantle teammate Josh Simpson to make the most of his AFL dream, saying the troubled midfielder can use football to help set up a good life for his young family.