“HE’S A great person, a great leader and a bloody good footballer when he’s up and going.”

When Jagga Smith became a Carlton player in the 2024 AFL Draft, Blues fans couldn’t help but project forwards and think of a long-term midfield with the youngster alongside Sam Walsh.

And as the duo continue to develop a burgeoning partnership on the field, that has come on the back of a strong relationship off it.

After Smith went down with an untimely knee injury on the eve of his first season in the AFL, he quickly gravitated towards Walsh, with the Blues co-vice captain more than willing to bring Smith along for the ride.

With both players committing their long-term futures to Carlton already this season - Smith until 2030, Walsh until 2034 - the Rising Star nominee shared some insight into Walsh’s leadership off the field, when speaking to ABC on Sunday.

“With the year our last year, there was a lot of time to learn. I looked at Sam Walsh, who’s a similar running player to me - I want to be the player he is,” Smith said.

“I have conversations with him regularly throughout the week, we do a few of our reviews together to see how we can complement each other.

“He’s been absolutely amazing with me - as has Patrick Cripps, who’s an unbelievable leader for the footy club.”

Carlton celebrated its second win of the season on Saturday night, with the emotion evident on the young Blue’s face come the final siren after an emotional week.

Alongside the added bonus of having former Scotch College and Oakleigh Chargers teammate Jack Ison celebrate his first win, Smith said the connection the team felt with the crowd made for “a pretty special night”.

“Getting to Carlton, I always knew the supporter base was passionate and I think we’ve got to use that as an advantage. Our fans really care how we go… we want to energise our fans and really do them proud.

“It sounded so loud, probably the loudest I’ve heard it in my first 10 games. It’s a big club and when you’re not going well, they’re going to be really disappointed - just like we are as players. If you can get on a run, they can be really big for us.”

On the back of the win, Smith said the Blues enjoyed it for what it was after a turbulent time, but come Tuesday, it was back to work ahead of a clash with Yartapuulti on Saturday night.

After a taste of the winning feeling once again, it’s no surprise that the ultra-competitive Smith wants more.

“A win was building. If you look at our second half against Brisbane and some of our best footy throughout the year, it’s been not too bad. We just haven’t been able to do it for long enough.

“It’s a shared responsibility: it’s not just the coach. It’s not just the players. It’s one club. I can’t speak any more highly of the leaders… they felt a bit of ownership that they wanted to propel this club into a win on the weekend.

“We want to make this a routine, we don’t want to just have a win every now and then - we want to be able to back it up. That’s what good teams do.”