WHILE it was a happy homecoming back in the Northern Territory, Sam Walsh was keeping mindful of the thousands of Carlton supporters in Victoria.

Walsh returned to the scene where he ‘fell in love with football’, having spent three years in Darwin as a teenager.

The 20-year-old was once again one of Carlton’s best in the victory over Gold Coast: a win which he said was with the fans in mind.

Speaking to media on Saturday morning, Walsh said the back-to-back wins had been reward for effort.

“We’re loving playing footy at the moment,” Walsh said.

“Down home in Victoria, we know it’s pretty tough so the joy we can put on supporters’ faces if we bring effort and try and win games of footy [is pretty important].

“We’ve had an unreal pre-season which sets us up for a good later part of the year.”

Walsh was part of a midfield group which dictated terms on Friday night, with Carlton posting the largest contested possession differential of any team this year.

Another of those was Patrick Cripps, with the co-captain’s excitement evident as shown on Channel 7 in the rooms post-match.

“‘Crippa’s’ comments were more about the consistent effort we were bringing in terms of our compete and wanting to get better as a group,” he said.

“He’s been a big part of that and it’s probably why he was so pumped up, it was good to see.

“We’re feeling very confident in what we can do.”