Friday, July 03, 2015

RIP Phil Walsh

0 comments Posted by Katina at 9:13 PM



WAKING up to the news that Phil Walsh was murdered overnight was pretty tough going for a lot of people. The coach of the Adelaide Crows football club was well-respected and had made an impact across other clubs during his career.

As an Adelaide supporter, I was personally shocked. From waking up to a text from my mother asking if I'd heard, to thinking he'd been in an accident, to then turning on the TV and seeing the headline 'Phil Walsh murdered', I couldn't quite believe it.

From a footy perspective, my father noted we'll never know where he could have led the Crows. He only came to us in October, we're sitting 7-5 and confident we can finish in the top eight. He had a tough attitude but a positive impact on the club. Across the various clubs he worked at, he made solid connections.


From a community perspective, this has hit Adelaide – heck, all of Australia – hard. Here you have a tragic story rising from a domestic dispute. A son motivated for whatever reason to harm his parents. A daughter travelling overseas only to hear about the horrifying news of murder from either a grieving relative or a news bulletin. It's unimaginable.

Even if it was someone with less of a profile this would be considered a tragedy. But the nature of the victim lends to greater coverage of the story, which today has been extensive. Personally, seeing the Seven Adelaide newsdesk presenting coverage on TV here in Darwin made the world shrink just that little bit more.

We can only think of Phil's greater family, friends and the club at this time. I would have loved to see the boys play in his memory on Sunday, but understand the pain of grief all too well to know they'll need that extra time to get back in the right headspace.

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