Phil Walsh murder: Thousands of footy fans pay tribute on Adelaide Oval

ADELAIDE Oval was meant to be the scene of an AFL match where the Crows scrapped to hold a spot in the top eight. Instead, it became a sanctuary for 20,000 stunned fans, all flying as one.

5/7/15 - Adelaide Oval opened it's gates for fans to pay tribute to the late Phil Walsh. The game between the Crows and the Cats was cancelled due to his murder on Friday. Photo Naomi Jellicoe

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A SILENT crowd stood before an empty field, vacant of players, for a game that will never be played.

And, in that absence, they came together to find some kind of meaning.

There is a now a deep and pitiless void at the centre of South Australian sporting life.

The death of Adelaide Crows coach Phil Walsh, allegedly at the hand of his own son, robbed a team of its leader and the state of one of its most enigmatic and respected figures.

For many, the only thing that made sense was to repeat the ritual of a winter’s weekend.

An estimated 20,000 fans took to Adelaide Oval on Sunday in remembrance of the man who played or coached at seven AFL clubs. His image appeared on the big screens facing back toward the city to welcome the grieving as they arrived in the Oval’s southern plaza.

Before his image gathered the Crows Supporters’ Group. At their feet was a postcard-sized image of Walsh addressing his players, the centre of an improvised shrine ringed by six candles.

Others scattered their mementos on the ground — guernseys, scarfs, soft toys and caps. Five-year-old Cameron Lloyd left his frustrated masterpiece, a child’s portrait of a football hero.

An Oval tribute for Phil

The crowd coursed through the gates at 2.15pm as a mass of red, yellow and blue and generous splashes of Port Adelaide teal. Sprinkled through were hues from across the competition.

The next minutes where much like those before any big game. Fans inched past each other to find their seats and the bars opened for those needing a calmer to help them through.

And then they waited for that peculiar moment, a siren that signified both a start and an end.

Fans of all colours stood together in stunned, confused, regretful silence. The siren concluded football life with Phil Walsh and, in its familiarity, also signals the game and life will go on.

Spontaneous applause rang out.

Fans spilt onto the field where the players couldn’t bear to be. They did it as singles and groups. In pairs and families. As friends and strangers. Fathers kicked footballs with their sons.

Crows fan Nathan Craill organised a walk of supporters from Parliament House to the Oval, putting the call out across Facebook over the weekend for fans to “march as one”.

“Everyone has come together, no matter what team you are from,” he said. “We fly as one.

“We’ve all come together to show condolences and respects to the Walsh family and both clubs.

“All rivalry has been put aside and shows what unites us is more than what separates us.”

Adelaide Oval chief executive Andrew Daniels said the Stadium Management Authority was willing to hold further commemorations if requested by the Adelaide Football Club.

The stadium remained lit in Crows colours on Sunday night.

On Thursday, the Oval will fill again as Port Adelaide hosts Collingwood. The following weekend, Crows players return to play a Showdown that will be cloaked in grief.

And even when the stadium is full again, something will always be missing.