Cody Walker had a front row seat to Carlton's tumultuous season. In line meetings, at team dinners, out of the Michael Voss era and into the Josh Fraser fairytale. From door stops to crisis meetings, it was an eye opening introduction to the big business of footy for the son-of-a-gun.
"I actually reflect on it a bit now and consider how low a club can get. Being on the inside with all the outside noise that we had when all the Vossy stuff was going down, it was really quite interesting to see," Walker tells ESPN.
"Then going from that to top of the AFL and beating Brisbane and Fremantle towards the end of the season, seeing how good a club can feel and get. For that to both happen in one season I find it quite interesting. I'm sort of glad it happened in a way that I get to experience both worlds."
In the midst of their early season malaise, Blues players were subjected to abuse walking off the ground after second half fadeouts and even rocked up to Ikon Park with anti-Voss graffiti on the club walls. That included Walker as he trained full-time with the squad.
"All the outside noise tears you apart a little bit. To see fans out the front of Ikon Park sort of giving it to you, and open training to have people yelling out at you and it's your fans, they've got Carlton stuff on, but they're yelling out to you, it's pretty full on."
From 1-8 under Voss, the Blues stormed home under Fraser, winning their next six starts and claiming a remarkable win in a wildcard final against Melbourne.
A fractured playing group was united under a first-time head coach and Walker was along for the ride.
"It was quite an eye opener how sad it can get inside a club. You sort of have to keep to yourself in those moments and just get around the boys," he says.
"We definitely had to stick together as a group, and Fraser's been really good at that. We did a lot together this year, the players grabbed me along to every dinner they had. It was so good, such a good experience."
That finals finish means Carlton receives no discount on matching a bid on the son of high-flyer Andrew, with the pair likely to become the first father-son duo to each be selected in the top five of an AFL Draft.
Walker's talent deserves to see him taken at pick 2, just like his dad.
An electric midfielder blessed with the twitchiness, agility and burst to free himself from stoppages, Walker enjoyed a brilliant campaign with Carlton's VFL side and cemented his status in the 2026 draft.
There's no doubting his mercurial talent and its fit alongside Patrick Cripps, Sam Walsh, and Jagga Smith, but Walker isn't yet the complete package, and he's the first one to acknowledge it.
"I think my burst out of stoppage and ball-winning is my 'one wood'... when I look back on footage and see for myself how dangerous I can look going out of stoppage, it's really eye-opening for me," he tells ESPN.
"My improvements I want going into next year, I want to improve every part of my fundamentals. I've got a little bit of disposal efficiency which can let me down, but I'll put a power of work into kicking and handballing.
"It got to the point where I was doing two or three sessions a week, and that includes Diesel Williams helping me out.
"I've got so many good people around me and I can already feel that I'm getting better at those things. I'm pretty straightforward in what I want to get better at and I like getting harsh feedback from coaches that I can work on.
"No one's really pissing in my pocket about something I need to work on and I don't realise it until I'm maybe on [the MCG] one day and it's a problem for me if I'm missing kicks or missing handballs."
Walker's final game before he turns professional wasn't in Carlton's VFL side, at the national championships with Vic Country or back with the Bendigo Pioneers. It was in the Goulburn Valley Football League playing for hometown Echuca, and he spent most of his lead-up convincing the Blues' General Manager of Football to let him go.
"I actually sat down with Chris Davies about two weeks before the granny. I was like, 'What are the chances I get to play?'" Walker recalls to ESPN.
"He was like, 'Mate, we're not going to stop you. Preferably, I think it's the wrong decision, but it's all your choice.'"
Walker was determined to enjoy one more stint out in the country with his best mates after a massive top-age season, but injured his ankle during training the week after that conversation with Davies. It ruled him out of the qualifying final, but he still had an eye towards their qualification into the big dance.
"I went home for two weeks and I was training with Echuca and I just got addicted. I called up the club and a few people there and I was like 'I think I'm going to play, I'm doing it'. I'm so glad I did it."
Walker had 20 disposals, eight score involvements, and kicked a goal off the wing in Echuca's 13-goal win over the Shepparton Swans.
It underlined the values that have made Walker rise and rise through junior football ranks. His competitive spirit and genuine love of footy through rich bloodlines continually stands out. Carlton supporters have known of Walker's footballing exploits for years, but they may not know what makes him tick.
That attitude was on show in the 2km time trial at the AFL Draft combine. Walker led his group of runners by the length of the straight, finishing nine seconds ahead of second place. It's his inner motivation that drives him to compete against the best, and oftentimes that means competing against himself.
It's why he has a grin on his face when asked why he even ran despite some Blues supporters bemoaning his name rising higher on rival clubs' draft boards.
"It was probably to beat my [personal best]... my PB was 6:13, I was feeling good and I had a bit in the tank," he says.
"Personally I'm a competitor. I do want to see where I'm at as of right now compared to maybe three months later when I do a 2k at the club."
Walker smashed that time, finishing in 6:04 minutes and on the podium despite running in a slower pack.
It's given Carlton more to consider, lacking the points to match a bid at pick 1 but desperate to secure its second elite father-son prospect in as many years after Harry Dean was taken with pick two in 2025.
"I've got plenty of trust in the club with what they can do in my scenario," Walker says.
"I love the Carlton Football Club and I'm really thankful they've given me this year and it would be a really cool thing to end up at my dad's club. There's a lot of history there."