Vale Robert Walls: AFL legend’s best columns for The Age
A fixture of the game for 50 years, Robert Walls died on May 15, 2025. He was also a longtime football columnist for The Age – read the best of his past columns here.
Opinion
2012: Malthouse a big risk as Blues err in axing Ratten
Ratten is under siege, but he doesn’t play politics, lay blame or pit personalities against each other, as some coaches do. He continues to put his players first.
- by Robert Walls
Opinion
2009: He’s brash, but boy can Aka play
As a coach, you like your young players to pull their heads in and do a lot of looking and listening. I thought Jason Akermanis would rub a few people the wrong way. And he did.
- by Robert Walls
Opinion
2007: Fond memories of an old sparring partner
When it came to kicking, scratching, spitting, abusing and coat hanging, Kevin Sheedy and I were happy to accommodate each other. Out of that keen rivalry, a begrudging respect grew.
- by Robert Walls
Opinion
2007: The golden West Coast era of the mid-2000s brought the game into disrepute
I want to see the Swans smash West Coast. I want good to triumph over evil. Perhaps that sounds a bit dramatic, but you cannot help how you feel.
- by Robert Walls
Opinion
2004: Go now, Libba, if you did it
There has been much to admire about Liberatore’s career. But it has been sad to see him desperately clinging to a career that he knows is slipping away fast.
- by Robert Walls
Opinion
2003: Disgraceful Magpies took footy fans for a ride
I feel let down. I’ve been shortchanged, fooled, duped and embarrassed. And I don’t even barrack for Collingwood. But I did tip it. And it did not give a yelp.
- by Robert Walls
Opinion
2003: To Rohan, Barass and Knightsy – I’m sorry
I let Western Bulldogs dasher Rohan Smith down last week. I regret what I did and wish I could turn back time, but that can’t happen.
- by Robert Walls
Opinion
2001: Gloves off over a fight for respect
Putting the gloves on at the Bears was commonplace back in the early 1990s. Shane Strempel, who treated the club and his teammates with a lack of respect, needed to be put in a position of dealing with some controlled aggression.
- by Robert Walls
Opinion
1997: Greatness in black and white
Nathan Buckley annoyed a few of the older players because his unbridled enthusiasm embarrassed their not-so-full-on efforts. We played him everywhere – wing, centre, half-back.
- by Robert Walls
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