Sunday Shout: Jon Anderson’s final interview with the late Robert Walls

A legend as a player, coach and in the media. Robert Walls did it all. In one of his final interviews, Jon Anderson talks all things football with a great of the game.

Jon Anderson

5 min read

May 18, 2025 - 12:00PM

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Robert Walls lived his life by his own set of values and as such will long be remembered for his character as much as his contribution to our native code.

His CV has been well documented since his death via voluntary assisted dying on Thursday, but even when gone his thoughts make good reading.

This interview was put together over a long coffee conversation in East Melbourne last December.

Robert Walls.

JON ANDERSON: Let’s cut straight to the chase Robert. Who is the best player you saw?

ROBERT WALLS: For sheer talent, Gary Ablett Snr was a clear margin ahead. He was the player I paid to watch. His combination of power, speed and sheer skill was superior. Malcolm Blight, Sam Kekovich and Alex Jesaulenko were others with those attributes.

JA: When you arrived at Carlton as a skinny teenager in 1967, your dad asked a teammate to look after you on the field.

Walls in his playing days. Picture: Bob Buchanan.

RW: Ricky McLean, who was only three years older than me but played the game in a very firm fashion. And he did look after me as I was coming through the ranks. We remained mates.

JA: I love that story about you when coaching the Brisbane Bears.

RW: That would be the Saturday morning before a Sunday game when I walked into McDonald’s wearing a Bears T-shirt to get some breakfast for my kids. The kid behind the counter figured I was a Brisbane Bears fan and asked if I was going to the game the next day. I told him yes so he reached down and produced 10 free tickets for me and my family.

JA: Were you a good coach?

RW: I can confidently say at Fitzroy that I was a very good coach, backed by a loyal and talented group of players. They didn’t have any money, same as Brisbane. I took the Bears from a wooden spoon to a qualifying final which in some ways gave me as much pleasure as winning a flag with Carlton.

JA: When you and old sparring partner Kevin Sheedy were at war, you pointed to your diverse coaching record.

RW: I have great respect for what Kevin Sheedy achieved, surviving as coach of one club for 27 years. But my point was, until he went to GWS, Kevin didn’t experience coaching a struggling club. Kevin referred to me as a sniper which I didn’t appreciate, but I knew I was mellowing when I started to enjoy his company as I got older.

Walls coached four clubs at the top level.

JA: Was there a single player you enjoyed coaching the most?

RW: When the late Garry Sidebottom came to Fitzroy he was as low as a footballer could get after being treated like a dog by Geelong. He gave so much to us and our smaller players.

JA: Are there forgotten players in your time?

RW: David McKay isn’t forgotten by those who played with him and barracked for Carlton, but sadly the AFL has forgotten him. His non-selection in the Australian Football Hall of Fame is surprising at best and ignorant at worst.

JA: In your media career you always told it like it was, including claiming the West Coast flag in 2006 was tainted?

RW: I stand by that assessment and will let history be the judge. The truth is what took place at the Eagles in that period should never have happened, and sadly it has affected too many lives in a negative way. Nobody has been prepared to put their hand up and take some form of responsibility which reflects badly on the club.

JA: In 2020, you and David Parkin picked your best 22 from 1970-2020?

RW: And we only disagreed on one position, that being wing where I went for Jason Akermanis and David for Doug Hawkins.

JA: The side was B: Wanganeen, Silvagni, Scarlett. HB: Doull, Knights, Enright. C: Akermanis, Sam Mitchell, Judd. HF: Ablett Snr, Carey, Ablett Jr. F: Matthews, Lockett, Quinlan. R: Madden, Voss, Bartlett. Inter: Royce Hart, Blight, Jesaulenko, Doug Hawkins.

RW: I wish you wouldn’t mention Peter Knights, who embarrassed me at times. Quinlan, who had the perfect footballer’s build and was our X-factor given he could play anywhere.

SEATTLE MEAT MATE

An example of the loyalty of Robert Walls was at Fitzroy when he became the first VFL coach to have a personal sponsor (Seattle Meat owned by his friend George Ermer).

So when appearing on Channel 7’s World of Sport, Walls wore a Seattle Meat T-shirt, prompting a threat of withdrawal by club sponsor Darling Investment Services. For the record Walls was paid in meat rather than cash.

The comments of David Koch have to be looked into. Picture: Brett Hartwig

INVESTIGATION NEEDED

Watch it slide through to the ’keeper, but if the AFL is fair dinkum about racism then it would be investigating claims by Port Adelaide chairman David Koch that Willie Rioli was targeted with “cultural disrespect” from Western Bulldog players.

If it happened then an investigation is essential. If it didn’t then Koch has unfairly tarnished a group of 23 players who wore red, white and blue.

Oliver Dempsey has a prized signature. Picture: Michael Klein

UN-SIGNED STAR

As the Tasmanian Devils’ recruiting department starts building a 2028 team from scratch, one name very high on their shopping list is that of 23-year-old Geelong wingman/forward Ollie Dempsey.

The one-time basketballer, who continues to impress with his unique set of skills, remains unsigned for 2026, something the Cats are working very hard to rectify.

WATERS ON THE MOVE?

Could Cam Waters, who is out of contract at season’s end, be on the move from Ford to General Motors for 2026. Waters, 30, has driven for Tickford Racing for eight years on an annual fee said to be around the $800,000 mark.

But with a desire to pursue some racing in the US, GM might be a better fit for the 30-year-old who was born in Mildura.

It will be a packed house when Bailey Smith faces his former side. Picture: Getty Images

FINALLY A FULL CATS’ CROWD

Thanks to Bailey Smith, the GMHBA Stadium crowd for this Thursday’s clash with the Western Bulldogs is likely to be sold out, in stark contrast to the three home crowds this season.

Just 84,176 (average 28,058 per match) have attended Geelong’s first three home games at a venue that seats 40,000. The 3pm Mother’s Day timeslot last Sunday for the Cats’ fixture against the Giants was far from ideal.

REST IN PEACE WALLABY

Bob “Wallaby” Cowper, who died last weekend aged 84, faced opening bowlers of the quality of Wes Hall, Charlie Griffith, Fred Trueman, John Snow, Peter Pollock and Mike Procter,

Which made it all the more surprising when over a recent coffee Cowper named his Hawthorn-East Melbourne teammate, the late John “JP” Smith as the best (273 Premier Cricket wickets at 16.39 from 1955-68).