Walsh was named in the squad to take on Essendon and the Brisbane Lions this Friday night.
The 23-year-old moved to Australia at the end of 2009 when he was rookie-listed by the Saints.
After quickly learning the game, he had a strong year for VFL side Sandringham, finishing in the top five of its best and fairest.
Goddard said he was looking forward to playing alongside the powerfully-built Walsh in this week's games.
"Tommy has come along in leaps and bounds" he said.
"He has picked up the game really well. He is a great athlete. It is going to be a great experience for him. He gets the chance to get some senior footy under his belt and enhance his skills."
Goddard watched Walsh closely last year and said he was a quick learner who was becoming increasingly comfortable with the Australian game.
"The easiest thing is kicking the footy but the hard thing he found was reading the game because it's not natural to him. I think we'll see him play in defence because he's got everything in front of him," he said.
"I watched a couple of games at VFL level last year and he's very impressive. His body work defensively on forwards is very impressive."
Walsh is one of nine untried Saints selected in the squad for Friday night's round robin.
While the Saints have selected a host of stars including Nick Riewoldt, Lenny Hayes and Sam Gilbert, Goddard said the team would not hold itself back.
"It's a great opportunity for young guys. We're going to have a pretty young team and this Friday night is a chance for them to make a statement. We are expecting nothing less than for them to give effort for 100 per cent of the time," he said.
"It's easy to say it's only a pre-season competition but as soon as the ball is bounced all you think about is winning. I'd love to say we'd love to go deep in the NAB Cup and potentially win it. You've got to keep in mind that it is the NAB Cup but you want to win it just as much as any other game."
Brendon Goddard is a $471,000 defender/midfielder in the Toyota AFL Dream Team competition
Tommy Walsh is a $92,500 forward in the Toyota AFL Dream Team competition
