MICHAEL Walters says becoming "more of a man" when his career was at the crossroads was the catalyst for his elevation to Fremantle's leadership group.
The star forward was voted in as a leader by his teammates on Tuesday, five years after coach Ross Lyon sent him back to Swan Districts during pre-season for being overweight.
Walters' transformation has been nothing short of remarkable.
The 26-year-old is now a three-time leading goalkicker for Fremantle, is the club's most diligent trainer and one of the Dockers' most respected players.
"I had to grow up and become more of a man, in a sense," Walters said of his change in maturity.
"I became a father, I had a lot of things going on in my life where I had to just be strong for them (family) and focus on my career.
"So I think my family was a big part, with a lot of help from everyone at the footy club."
Walters vividly remembers his conversation with Lyon, which gave him the "kick in the butt" he deserved.
"The thing that's kept me in good stead is always having that in the back of my mind, especially coming back after the off-season break," Walters said.
"I never thought I was going to be on an AFL list this long, let alone in the leadership group.
"It means a lot, especially being voted by the players."
Walters and reigning Doig medallist Lachie Neale have joined Freo's leadership group under new skipper Nat Fyfe as the Dockers embark on a fresh course with a younger playing group.
Fremantle will unveil a new-look forward line minus Matthew Pavlich in 2017, and Walters hopes recruits Cam McCarthy and Shane Kersten can boost the side's firepower.
Over the past four years, he and fellow small forward Ballantyne have had a mortgage on the club's goalkicking award.
"You see teams like Adelaide who have a massive scoring power ... in order for us to win more games we need everyone to step up and start kicking goals," Walters said.
Walters is also keen to continue experiment with his push into the midfield after spending more time up the ground last season.
"If I'm getting shut down – and even Ballas – if we're getting shut down in the forward line it's always good to sneak up to the midfield and try to break a tag," he said.
Recovering from an intraclub match on Wednesday where Fyfe starred and McCarthy also impressed onlookers, Freo players walked laps and completed short handball drills during the club's final training session at Fremantle Oval on Thursday.
More than 20 years after moving into the historic venue in the heart of Fremantle as a brand new club, the Dockers will open a fresh chapter when they relocate to their state-of-the-art facility at Cockburn Central next week.
"I've been here almost every day for nine years, and the Freo community have really gotten around us," Walters said.
"It's going to be different, but we're also really excited as the future of the club to move to Cockburn."
The $109 million community-club venture features a main training oval with movable goalposts that is big enough to replicate any AFL ground in Australia, along with hydrotherapy and aquatic areas, an altitude chamber and indoor running track.
