Phil Walsh delivered a 30-minute “masterclass’’ to win the Crows coaching job

PHIL Walsh won the Crows coaching job with a 30-minute “masterclass’’, according to Adelaide chief executive Andrew Fagan.

Crows Training at Max Basheer Reserve. New senior coach Phil Walsh makes his first appearance at training. Photo Sarah Reed.

PHIL Walsh won the Crows coaching job with a 30-minute “masterclass’’, according to chief executive Andrew Fagan.

Revealing how Walsh separated himself from the final three contenders to replace sacked senior coach Brenton Sanderson at Adelaide, Fagan said the former Port Adelaide senior assistant “hijacked the process’ with his final interview.

Fagan said that in his last chance to impress the panel picking the Crows’ eighth coach, Walsh demanded selection by the way he analysed 30 minutes of football at a secret meeting in Melbourne.

“We asked everyone (the three final coaching candidates which also are understood to have included Hawthorn assistant Brendon Bolton and Sydney assistant Stuart Dew) to analyse a quarter of a game of footy,’’ Fagan recalled.

Crows senior coach Phil Walsh at pre-season training. Photo Sarah Reed.

“We wanted to see how they viewed defence, offence, strategy, the match-ups and just get a feel of how they analyse the game.

“We said we’ll give you 30 minutes and we’ll go into another room, come back and listen to your thoughts.

“Phil said we could do that or we could just stay there and he’d do it in front of us, which we thought was pretty bold.

“We said ‘all right Phil, go for it’, and he said he was going to pretend he was sitting in the (coaches) box as senior coach and would call the game for us.

Phil Walsh walks past his old colleagues from Port Adelaide. Picture: Sarah Reed

“He proceeded to give us a 30-minute masterclass.

“I was sitting alongside Mark Ricciuto, David Noble and Andrew Payze and it was a pretty impressive performance and truly extraordinary experience.’’

Fagan said he “felt a little bit sorry’’ for the next two coaching candidates, especially after they took the 30-minute option to review the game before outlining their thoughts to the Crows’ coaching selection panel.

“That (final interview) did show that we had the right man to lead our team and every day that has proven to the case,’’ Fagan said at the SA Press Club luncheon yesterday.

“He nailed it through the interview process from start to finish and almost demanded selection.’’

Fagan said in two months on the job, Walsh had proven to club insiders that he is “the perfect man to deliver the elite football program that we desire’’.

“He is a master tactician, he’s a man of tremendous integrity, he is a very hard task master and he is a true leader, a very strong leader,’’ Fagan said.

“But interestingly he is also a teacher, he wants to educate those people around him, not just the players but his staff, and he wants to both provide and receive feedback.

“He is helping us to build a program which is beginning to look elite.’’

Originally published as Phil Walsh delivered a 30-minute “masterclass’’ to win the Crows coaching job