Unfiltered: Patrick Dangerfield reveals last conversation with Phil Walsh
superstar Patrick Dangerfield has revealed he told Phil Walsh he was leaving Adelaide just hours before the coach was killed.
Dangerfield's eventual departure from the Crows was a key storyline throughout the 2015 season with the gun midfielder out of contract and a free agent.
Unfiltered with Hamish McLachlan featuring Patrick Dangerfield, 9.30pm Wednesday following The Front Bar on Seven and
7plus
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The move to the Cats was widely expected and it came as no surprise when the two clubs agreed on a deal on the opening day of the trade period.
Dangerfield had waited until after the Crows' season ended before publicly announcing his desire to join Geelong, but he had told some key figures already.
And one of those was Walsh, just hours before he was fatally stabbed by his son Cy.
Speaking to Hamish McLachlan on Unfiltered, Dangerfield recounted how his news went down.
'The first person I told was Phil Walsh, we had green tea, he was a very big tea man, we caught up, it was a Thursday afternoon,' he said.
'I told him and he said that he would keep it to himself and I felt like I could believe him, he was that sort of guy.
'Ten hours later, David Noble (head of footy) was at the door at 5.30am.
'It was a strange moment in time when you tell the coach and he's not with us the next day.
'I got the front door, nothing good happens at 5.30am, (Noble) said 'pack your stuff and come in, Phil's dead.'
'It's almost easier to talk to because it still doesn't seem real, like it was just out of a movie.'
Dangerfield said the next week was a blur as the club dealt with the shock situation.
Unfiltered with Hamish McLachlan featuring Patrick Dangerfield, 9.30pm Wednesday following The Front Bar on Seven and
7plus
.
'It was one of the toughest weeks I've experienced. Emma Barr, who's our player development manager at the time, she was incredible in keeping the group united in that sense,' he said.
'It was extremely difficult on everyone in the building because we'd had a couple of down years and we were playing some really good footy and there was some solid direction.
'He was ruthless in terms the way of he coached and communicated but he was also a father figure in the way he explained things.'
Adelaide's clash against Geelong was cancelled before the Crows headed to Perth for an emotionally charged clash against West Coast
Walsh had also spent time at the Eagles and the players locked arms in solidarity in powerful post-match scenes.
'We split the points with the Cats and then we went over to West Coast the following week and that week it was just like the emotional release after that game was enormous,' he said.
'It wasn't closure by any means, but the end of that game and locking arms with the West Coast players ... that was a pretty interesting time.
'We experienced so much in life together, unfortunately we experienced something that no one should have to do deal with it, but we did and we only had each other.'
Unfiltered with Hamish McLachlan featuring Patrick Dangerfield, 9.30pm Wednesday following The Front Bar on Seven and
7plus
.
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