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Adelaide Crows coach Phil Walsh allegedly murdered by son

PATRICK Dangerfield and Taylor Walker have made emotional tributes to murdered Adelaide Crows coach Phil Walsh.

Jai BednallJai Bednall
@jaibednall
6 min read
July 3, 2015 - 7:34PM
Patrick Dangerfield leaves AAMI Stadium. Picture Dylan Coker
Patrick Dangerfield leaves AAMI Stadium. Picture Dylan Coker

THERE has been an outpouring of grief as the AFL community struggles to comprehend the stabbing murder of Adelaide Crows coach Phil Walsh.

Walsh, 55, was allegedly stabbed to death in his Adelaide home by his 26-year-old son Cy, who was arrested and charged for the murder this morning.

Crows captain Taylor Walker led the heartfelt tributes today, posting an emotional message on Instagram: “A bloke that I learnt so much off in such little time … You have left a footprint on my life, I fell in love with you as a bloke and I’ll forever think of you Phil!! Love you Walshman … RIP”.

Star midfielder Patrick Dangerfield added: “Words cannot express the sorrow and disbelief. What Phil Walsh has done for our football club in such a short period of time is truly astonishing. Elite standards on and off the field. Phil led and we followed. His standards and philosophies will forever guide all those who knew him. I feel blessed to have known Phil Walsh and I am a better person because of him #RIPWalshy.”

Football fans from across the country have also taken to social media to express their grief over Walsh’s death by posting the hashtag #PutYourScarvesOut on Twitter.

While some tweets contained heartfelt messages, others simply displayed the request to put their scarf out as a mark of respect.

Meanwhile, Adelaide Football Club players also posted tributes to their coach on Twitter.

THE INCIDENT

Police were called to Bungey Ave, in the coastal Adeaide suburb of Somerton Park, at 2am Friday where they found the body of the 55-year-old, who was in his first season as Adelaide coach after a 20-year career as an assistant. He had received multiple stab wounds.

Police later confirmed the son, Cy Walsh, had been charged with his father’s murder.

The 26-year-old was remanded in custody during a brief bedside hearing this afternoon at an Adelaide hospital, where he has been detained for psychiatric assessment.

Police have removed a knife from the boot of a car at the Walsh residence, but it is unknown if it was used in the alleged murder.
Police have removed a knife from the boot of a car at the Walsh residence, but it is unknown if it was used in the alleged murder.

“Ambulance crews immediately rendered first aid and tried to resuscitate (Walsh) but unfortunately he died shortly afterwards,” police superintendent Des Bray said.

“His wife also suffered a wound. Police were able to establish that at around about 2 o’clock, the son of the family had attended (the house). There’d been an argument — I can’t tell you anything (about the) argument or the circumstances — but as a result of that, both Mr Walsh and his wife received the wounds.

“As I understand the son ordinarily lives there. Somebody from the house has called triple-0.

“We can’t speak to the son at this stage. As the investigation unfolds, I’m sure we’ll find out what happened. It’s just a terrible, tragic event.”

Walsh’s 26-year-old son was found by police in the neighbouring suburb of Glenelg East, arrested and taken for psychiatric assessment at the Flinders Medical Centre.

At a bedside hearing, Cy Walsh did not make an application for bail after being charged with his father’s murder. He has allegedly been remanded in custody, to reappear on 15 September.

Walsh’s wife, Meredith, was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries, reportedly to her leg. Their 22-year-old daughter is at summer camp in the US.

Phil Walsh and wife Meredith.
Phil Walsh and wife Meredith.

THE RESPONSE

Adelaide Crows champion and current board member Mark Ricciuto said the Adelaide playing group — which had to deal with the death of assistant coach Dean Bailey to cancer last year — was informed of the news at 7am.

“Imagine what they’re going through,” he told Triple M. “When you’re a coach of a club you’re a father figure for forty-odd lads from the age of 18 to early thirties. Those lads will be going through a fair bit of grief at the moment.

“It is hard to understand how in two days time they’re going to play a footy match. If it does go ahead, you wonder how they’ll go. I played in a game three days after my cousin died and that was pretty tough. Some people can get through it and some can’t. So it will be interesting to see how the Adelaide Football Club players handle it.”

Adelaide Crows chairman Rob Chapman described the situation as an unprecedented crisis. “There’s no rule book,” he said.

AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan announced this Sunday’s game between the Crows and Geelong will be cancelled, saying it wasn’t fair on the players to expect them to play. Both teams will receive two competition points. The seven other games involving other clubs will go ahead.

Games involving Adelaide and Port Adelaide’s reserves teams in the local SANFL competition have also been postponed.

While other AFL round games will continue, there will be a minute’s silence before every game and no winning side will have their club song played, in honour of Walsh. All players and officials will wear black armbands.

The AFL has implemented a number of procedures dictating that all pre- and post-game activities, including fireworks, kiss cam, countdowns, banners and guards of honour be cancelled for the remainder of the round.

Phil Walsh with his wife and children, including Cy (top).
Phil Walsh with his wife and children, including Cy (top).

THE MAN

WALSH had led the Crows to a 7-5 record this season after making the switch from cross-town rival Port Adelaide, where he served as an assistant in 2014 after returning to South Australia.

Walsh, from country Victoria, played 122 games in the AFL for Collingwood, Richmond and Brisbane, mostly as a wingman.

His first coaching job was in strength and conditioning at Geelong, before he moved to Port Adelaide as an assistant in 1999 and was Mark Williams’ right hand man as the Power claimed its maiden AFL premiership in 2004.

In 2009 he moved to West Coast as an assistant under John Worsfold before moving back to Adelaide to rejoin the Power last year.

Walsh only decided to take the senior coaching job at the Crows after a near-death experience in Peru in 2012. He was hit by a bus and left with a fractured pelvis and collarbone.

The accident had a major impact on Walsh’s outlook on life. He asked his wife to return and photograph the intersection and kept the photo as the desktop on his laptop as a reminder to be positive. He stopped drinking alcohol, started to learn to speak Japanese and began riding a bicycle to work every day.

Police at the murder scene in Somerton Park. Picture: Campbell Brodie.
Police at the murder scene in Somerton Park. Picture: Campbell Brodie.
A police detective and officer at the scene. Picture: Campbell Brodie.
A police detective and officer at the scene. Picture: Campbell Brodie.

MORE TRIBUTES

Veteran Adelaide AFL journalist Michelangelo Rucci told FIVEaa he was in disbelief after hearing the news.

“I’m speechless, bewildered ... A person that so many of us knew so well, I just can’t understand how this can happen,” Rucci said.

“People who knew Phil Walsh will be waking up today in just absolute disbelief, just staggered, that has happened. This is an extraordinary bit of news.”

When asked how the Crows will deal with the situation, Rucci said: “No one’s ever faced a situation like this. This is without precedent. There are going to be so many people who have to be counselled. So many people who will have to lead while dealing with this tragedy.

“It is bewildering to think just how this has happened.

“There are many things that will have to play out over the next 24 hours in football.”

Inaugural Crows coach Graham Cornes described Walsh as a man determined to make a difference to the lives of young men.

“He was a country boy who went to the city to play footy and he was a footballer first and foremost but then he developed and matured and he thought a lot more seriously about football,” Cornes told FIVEaa.

“He had a great football mind, a thirst for leaning and self-improvement. We didn’t see enough of him. He was really intelligent. He spoke so well and it’s so tragic to think of the circumstances but the first time I heard him speak was at Dean Bailey’s funeral, his close friend, and I just couldn’t believe how well he spoke without any notes.

“He wanted to make a difference and when he got his opportunity as a senior coach you could just see him flourish. It was almost as if he was bursting with ideas and wanted to make an impression and an impact on these young men’s lives. The more I saw of him the more I was impressed with him.”

North Melbourne great David King said football had lost a great man.

“This is a dead set tragedy,” King said. “Football has lost a great person.

“We’ve lost a great man. It’s so sad ... The football is irrelevant at this point. That is the least of our worries. We’ve lost one of our own.

“He was a different individual, Phil. He used to rise at 2am and start work about 3am. He loved his job and he was loving life at the Adelaide Crows. Watching the scenes on Channel 9, it’s hard to fathom.”

Phil Walsh at Crows training.
Phil Walsh at Crows training.

Originally published as Adelaide Crows coach Phil Walsh allegedly murdered by son

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Original URL: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/adelaide-crows-coach-phil-walsh-allegedly-murdered-by-son/news-story/2ff65759a5d0a19d74e3d5253540c7bd