Little has gone right for Walsh since - five days after winning the 2012 Michelsen - he suffered a broken leg in the first contest of the grand final against Golden Square.

He played just nine games last year, while he’s ready to return to the seniors this season after spending the past two weeks in the reserves.

“When he was injured in the 2012 grand final he had a plate put into his hip, but 12 months on when he had the plate taken out, it was basically a case of reinjuring it again, so he’s coming back from that,” Gisborne coach Rod Sharp said on Thursday.

“He’s basically coming off two years of not having a fitness base, so that is why we’ve held him back.

“He could have played seniors back in round two, but with what happened with him last year when he constantly suffered soft-tissue injuries through over compensation, we’re being really cautious with him.

“We’re confident we’ll now be able to get some continuity into him, but from my point of view as a coach, there’s no expectations on him over the next couple of weeks.

“There’s no pressure... he just has to come in and perform his role like any other player and as he gets his confidence back, I’ve got no doubt he can get back to what he was.”

While Walsh returns, the Bulldogs are looking at round 10 against Castlemaine as a potential return date for captain Casey Summerfield from his knee injury.