Latest news with #PhilWalsh
Daily Mail
03-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Footy star Taylor Walker reveals the devastating three-word phone call he received at 4.45am when AFL coach Phil Walsh was stabbed to death by his son
A decade ago, Adelaide captain Taylor Walker reluctantly answered his phone at 4.45am. 'Phil's been murdered,' Walker was told by Crows chief executive Andrew Fagan. Patrick Dangerfield then answered a knock on his Adelaide door at 5.30am. 'Phil's dead,' Dangerfield, then a star Crow, was told by the club's football manager David Noble. 'For that day and for the next few days I didn't cry,' Dangerfield has previously said. 'It was just total and utter disbelief... you couldn't comprehend it.' Ten years later, the AFL cohort in Adelaide are treading a fine line around Phil Walsh, who was stabbed to death by his son Cy 10 years ago today. How best to acknowledge Walsh without creating further pain for his family? No-one quite knows. Just as no-one quite knew 10 years ago how to handle the death of the 55-year-old who was in the midst of his first season as the Crows' head coach. 'It was a big washing machine for the next week,' Walker has said of the emotional fallout at the time. Walsh had joined the Crows from arch-rivals Port Adelaide, where in 2014 he was an assistant coach under Ken Hinkley. 'His knowledge and his love of the game was real,' Hinkley said this week. 'It's just a tragedy, obviously everyone knows that, with what happened. 'But there's a time when you reflect on the knowledge and the brilliance of his mind, which was amazing from a football sense.' Forever in our hearts, Walshy 🤍 — Adelaide Crows (@Adelaide_FC) July 2, 2025 Walsh's renowned intensity left an imprint on all. 'His game-day stuff, like his intensity and his willingness to try and win everything and make sure his team was so prepared,' Hinkley said. 'The players who would have played under Phil would say there was no stone unturned when it came to being ready to play football. 'His footy knowledge... (there was) no-one better.' As a player, Walsh featured in 122 VFL/AFL games for Richmond, Collingwood and Brisbane from 1983-1990. In 2014 under Hinkley, Walsh was in his second stint as a Power assistant - he also held the role from 1999-2008. Walsh filled the same job at West Coast from 2009-13 before returning to South Australia. When Adelaide sacked Brenton Sanderson as coach in September 2014, the Crows powerbroker and playing great Mark Ricciuto sought out Walsh. 'I feel like I have been robbed,' Ricciuto wrote in an open letter published five days after Walsh's death. 'In fact, we have all been robbed. (Walsh's wife) Meredith, (daughter) Quinn and the family and their friends, I'm sure, are all feeling the same. 'Why robbed? Because I think the Phil Walsh story was going to end as a fairytale. 'I could see him one day being a premiership coach... and I do not say it lightly.'
ABC News
02-07-2025
- Sport
- ABC News
Phil Walsh's death a decade ago shocked and united footy fans divided by their Showdown
If further proof were needed of the pride South Australians take in their Showdown, one place to search would be the everyday speech of the state's football faithful. Among Adelaide and Port Adelaide fans, certain phrases have passed into popular usage, and attest to the intensity of the passion for the AFL's most celebrated cross-town rivalry. The mere mention, for example, of the words "Dawson goal" and "Monfries bounce" is enough to evoke episodes of high drama — the first, a swerving after-the-siren free kick that secured an astounding victory for the Crows; the second, a wicked deviation in the ball's trajectory that turned a match in favour of the Power. But perhaps the high watermark of Showdown mischief occurred off the field in October 2014 when, on early morning television, then-Sunrise presenter and Power powerbroker David Koch broke the news about the man the Crows had selected as their next senior coach. As Port Adelaide chair, Koch was ideally placed to know that the Power's then-assistant coach Phil Walsh, whose two stints at Alberton amounted to more than 10 years of service, had been wooed by the Crows to fill the vacant role. "We feel very flattered that the Crows come to us for their senior coach," Koch told his Channel Seven audience, several hours before the Crows made their official announcement. Walsh's death — which occurred 10 years ago today — remains a rare event in the history of the AFL. When Crows supporters woke on the morning of July 3, 2015 to the news that their club's coach had been fatally stabbed in his own home at Somerton Park, the shock and anguish were both immediate and palpable. The sombre mood was starkly at odds with the excitement and buoyancy that had accompanied the media conference that followed Walsh's appointment to the Crows' top job nine months earlier. "First of all I'd like to thank my family for the support they've given — I hope one day to be able to repay them," said the then-54-year-old, who was candid about the challenge ahead of him. In a tragic turn of events, Phil Walsh, 55, died from multiple stab wounds after a domestic dispute at his Somerton Park home in the early hours of July 3. His son, 26-year-old Cy Walsh, was charged with murder. Cy Walsh was later found not guilty of murder by reason of mental incompetence, with a judge determining that he had been suffering a psychotic episode as a result of undiagnosed schizophrenia. But in the immediate aftermath of Phil Walsh's death, legal proceedings seemed almost an afterthought. Instead, one of the most noticeable and spontaneous effects of the shock was the solidarity it induced between the Crows and Power supporter bases. Usually the most bitter of rivals, both felt the blow directly and personally. South Australia is a place where football matters, and Adelaide is the archetypal two-team town. Melbourne has nine clubs (or 10, including Geelong), and the media's gaze is divided between all of them accordingly. But in Adelaide, where both local sides are subjected to almost perpetual attention, the smaller size of the population has at times seemed to intensify fans' feelings of connection to the teams and their players. The death of Test cricketer and South Australian state team player Phil Hughes during a Sheffield Shield match the previous spring had triggered national as well as international mourning, and the #PutOutYourBats social media trend in honour of the fallen prodigy had spread around the world. But Walsh's tragedy was, in a sense, Adelaide's own. "I got a phone call at 3:30am from the police to say that a tragedy had unfolded and that it involved Phil Walsh, our coach," said Crows chairman Rob Chapman at the time. "That's a phone call no-one ever wants to get." Inspired by #PutOutYourBats, local football fans embraced a #ScarvesOutForWalshy campaign. When the state's then-premier Jay Weatherill paid his respects, he very deliberately acknowledged the impact of the grief on both Adelaide teams. He singled out supporters of the Crows but made a point of extending that sympathy to "everyone who has associated with Phil throughout his career, including his time at the Port Adelaide Football Club". Further indications of the shared sense of loss were the floral and other tributes that were piled outside the Crows' West Lakes headquarters. Among the flowers, sympathy cards and memorabilia, the team's red, yellow and blue could clearly be seen mingling with the Port's black, white and teal. Nine months earlier, when he had cheekily revealed Walsh's move to the Crows, David Koch had done so in his capacity as a TV personality. Now, amid the flowing tributes, he spoke with statesmanlike dignity. "Phil was a much-loved friend of the Port Adelaide Football Club, having played an instrumental role in our 2004 Premiership campaign," Koch said solemnly. "Equally, our thoughts and prayers are with the players, coaches and staff of the Adelaide Football Club." A decade on, Power coach Ken Hinkley retains fond and vivid memories of Walsh both on and off the field, and this week spoke of his "knowledge and the brilliance of his mind, which was amazing in a football sense". "The players who played under Phil would say there was no stone unturned when it came to being ready to play football, and I'm sure the blokes who had him at the Crows as well, in a short period of time, would all say exactly the same," Hinkley said on Wednesday. "It's a sad moment that he's not with us, clearly." Distinctions are often made between sport and the so-called serious things in life. Football is indeed a game, but it isn't only a game, and the reaction to the loss of Phil Walsh remains proof of that fact. But it is proof of a kind that South Australian football fans hope never to encounter again.
Geek Vibes Nation
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Vibes Nation
'The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie' Blu-Ray Review - A Gift For Classic Looney Tunes Fans
A brand new buddy comedy starring Porky Pig and Daffy Duck! This richly-crafted, hand-drawn 2D animated adventure marks the first fully-animated feature-length film in Looney Tunes history, told on a scope and scale that's truly out of this world. For in-depth thoughts on The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie, please see my colleague Phil Walsh's review from its original theatrical release here. Video Quality The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie comes to Blu-Ray with a sterling 1080p transfer. The level of care and precision these animators put into every unique environment really flourishes here. The texture of the classic character designs and the environments are impressive and give the film a real sense of dimension within its traditional 2-D origins. The fluid nature of the character designs is one of the reasons this film stands out in HD. Viewers are treated to a vibrant array of colors that radiate off the screen with the wide range of hues saturating every inch of the frame. Black levels are incredibly strong with no instances of compression artifacts or digital anomalies of the sort. This transfer is every bit as wonderful as a modern animated film should be on Blu-Ray. Audio Quality This Blu-Ray makes the most of its Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track which gives this story a solid presentation. Dialogue comes through crisp and clear without ever getting overshadowed by the competing music or sound effects. This track puts a focus on the front channels for a significant chunk of the sounds, but activity extends to the surrounds and rears during the more looney and action-oriented bits along with the musical soundscape. The low end effects from the subwoofer give memorable sequences that extra push to ramp up the fun. Music maintains a flawless fidelity as it flows through the room. Atmospheric sound effects are rendered creatively within the mix so that directionality is never in question. While we wish this were a full lossless track, Ketchup Entertainment has delivered a fine audio experience for this one. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided. Special Features Trailer (1:01) Final Thoughts The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie is a welcome throwback to old-school Looney Tunes sensibilities thanks to the sumptuous 2-D animation and its deft mixture of wit and broad gags. The narrative does not try to overindulge on fan service by including a deluge of familiar faces from the greater universe; the film trusts the star duo to anchor the proceedings, and they do so effortlessly. Even with the short runtime, the film does begin to feel a bit long near the end, but the movie has built up enough goodwill by this point that you forgive these minor shortcomings. Ketchup Entertainment has released a Blu-Ray featuring a sterling A/V presentation but almost nothing in the way of supplemental materials. If you love the characters, you will at least have a great time with this entry. Recommended The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital. Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray. Disclaimer: Ketchup Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
