Sam Walsh was near perfect for almost the entirety of Carlton’s nailbiting loss to Collingwood at the MCG.
The Blues midfield superstar was at his dominant best as he racked up a game-high 33 disposals to go along with eight clearances.
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Despite his brilliance throughout the thrilling encounter, he’ll be left kicking himself for being burnt when it mattered most.
With the scores tied and the ball set to be thrown in just outside Collingwood’s 50m arc, Walsh lined up alongside Nick Daicos.
As the ball was tossed back into play, the two young stars made a beeline towards the feet of their ruckman.
The ball bounced off the deck and into heavy traffic, as both men made their way around the ensuing pack.
But in the blink of an eye Daicos turned on the jets and put plenty of distance on a left behind Walsh.
Daicos scooped up the loose ball out the back of the contest and nailed the match winning goal as Walsh was left to watch on hopelessly.
The biggest moment of the contest didn’t escape the spotlight of fans watching on, with many believing the Blues star won’t be eager for the club’s review.
The Herald Sun’s Jon Ralph wrote: “Can we have another decade of Nick Daicos v Sam Walsh please? Walsh will have his day but Daicos burns him off at the stoppage to win the game in front of the biggest Carlton-Collingwood home-and-away crowd in history.”
Journalist Brayden May wrote: “Sam Walsh won’t want to watch this one back in the review.”
Another user wrote: “Walsh won’t like to watch that replay.”
A third added: “Sam Walsh must have felt pretty ill when he let his man off the leash and kick the sealer. A lesson in maintaining concentration.”
It wasn’t just Walsh who was called out during the critical moment with Adam Cerra coming under fire after getting caught in no mans land.
“Let’s just watch this right now, we’re going to see (Adam) Cerra playing a cover defensive role,” Tommy Sheridan said on Channel 7’s Armchair Experts.
“If he’s going to impact he has to go and impact. If not he needs to sit back and see what is coming through.
“He goes in and fumbles the ball. Now there’s no defence behind which means there is space everywhere.”
Former Brownlow Medal winner Adam Cooney broke down the contest between the two young stars and says Walsh got caught ball watching for a split second and that proved the difference.
“He’s got him in a reasonable position pushing him away from goal, he just gets caught ball-watching for a split second and that’s all it takes,” Cooney said.
“What he needs to do the next time he’s in this situation is just keep pushing him away. All he does is watch the footy for half a second and Daicos gets goal side.
“As soon as a player like Daicos gets goal side, with that speed, he’s going to hurt you and burn you every day of the week.
“It’s a couple of things for Walsh … push away, push away and then keep switching on. Keep your arm across and then Cerra as you mentioned he’s either got to impact or hold back.
“Because if he held back that ball bobbles and he probably gets it and it’s a stoppage again.”
The win means Collingwood have now won four of their past five matches and have climbed up into seventh spot on the ladder.