Fremantle forward Michael Walters has revealed the details behind an unexpected stat he holds and still reminds his teammates about to this day.
In round 3 of 2018, Fremantle picked up their second win of the season with a 28-point victory over the Gold Coast Suns at Optus Stadium.
The then 27-year-old Walters was in the prime of his career, picking up two Brownlow Medal votes in the Club's win thanks to his 23 disposals, six tackles and two goals, not a bad day out for a crafty small forward.
But it's when you look a little deeper that you'll notice the 176cm (5ft 9in) Walters has a singular hit-out recorded in the stats column, not something you see every day for a player of his position and something Walters revealed on SEN WA Breakfast that he still reminds his teammates of to this day, six years later.
"Yes I know one hit-out and you know what, it was against Gold Coast against (Jarrod) Witts," Walters said.
"Gold Coast at Optus Stadium, and I still talk about it to this day.
"Aaron Sandilands actually got knocked over, so I put my hand up for the ruck contest.
"Obviously Witts didn't know about it, so I snuck up behind him and hit it corridor in defensive 50."
M. Walters - Career hit-outs: 1
— Fremantle Dockers (@freodockers) July 11, 2024
Sonny shared an all-time story about the time he put his hand up for the ruck on @SENWABreakfast this morning 😂
Read more ⤵️ #foreverfreo
Not a bad statistic to have considering his ruck opponent in Witts stands 209cm (6ft 10in) tall and has 5,882 career hit-outs to his name.
Walters even conceded that he's cheekily suggested to senior coach Justin Longmuir that he could take up the role of a rucking forward.
"I've been trying to tell JL 'look Tom Hawkins does it in the forward line, how about you chuck me in there?'" he laughed.
"I'm the third highest hit-outs at the footy Club at the moment by the way."
Is Michael Walters set for a role change? 👀@freodockers #foreverfreo pic.twitter.com/lUoOLI57eF
— SEN WA Breakfast (@SENWABreakfast) July 11, 2024