Mitch Wallis

Wallis just plays so smart as a deep forward. He positions himself and uses his body better than anyone else on our list. It says a lot about his dedication that he has developed this role so successfully. Our season would have been miserable without him.
 
The best thing about him is his recovery from that broken leg. That was car crash stuff. He used to be a midfielder before that. Many careers have been ended by such an injury. He decided not to let him stop it.
 
Other than Bob, he was the one player that I was so disappointed for not to be part of the premiership. He bleeds red, white and blue. He is such a nice guy and is part of a great bulldog family.

It is so good to see him playing some of his best football.

He has clearly copped well with having a new baby also. It's not like he can go and sleep in another room the night before a game.
 

stefcep

All Australian
Jun 6, 2016
684
780
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
If you've ever needed a footy example of making lemonade when footy gives you lemons, this guy is it..fantastic hands and body strength, and probably the only player i would trust at the club for a clinch kick after the siren to win the game.
 
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Testekill

Don't look at me like that
Dec 3, 2009
18,172
18,054
Brisbane
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
Other Teams
Footscray Bulldogs, Williamstown
When he and Libba were drafted there were plenty of media write-ups about them - both F/Sons, same draft year, same school, same TAC club, mates all through their teens etc, but it was mostly about Wallis being the better prospect. Not just midfield form but leadership potential etc.

Then in their early years at the Dogs it swung the other way. Wallis didn't make as big an impact as Libba who quickly won a B&F and then a premiership medallion while the injured Wallis looked on in envy. So often it was either one or the other in the side and in typical BF fashion a few people joined some random dots and said that Wallis and Libba couldn't both excel in the same selected 22.

Then Libba went missing with injuries and loss of focus. Meanwhile after examining himself, his prospects and his allegiances Wallis came to terms with being a very solid B grader at his beloved club (with maybe just a smidgin' of a chance at still becoming the A grader we all thought he'd be). He reinvented himself as a medium forward. It's now come to the point where he's being whispered about as an outside chance of an AA blazer.

So it has come full circle. Both are fit and firing. And hey, what do you know? They can both play good footy in the same side. Now it's hard to say who is the more valuable but both would easily be in our top 10. Thank Dog we don't have to choose.

It was frustrating because when Libba was out of the team then Wallis would come in and play very well; just have to look at his run as a tagger in 2014, dude was beating everyone's best mids by just being first in and getting to the ball first. Tons of credit to Mitch for not just adapting to a new role but excelling at it, Most players would have preferred to just go somewhere where they could easily break into their preferred role.
 
Mar 20, 2009
2,421
3,078
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
For a bloke who had zero composure in the midfield he has such a cool head in the forward 50. Has become a very good footballer.
Thats a little harsh. I thought he was always solid in the midfield after a decent run without injury. Problem was he got injured a lot.

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