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
'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 🤍 pic.twitter.com/HUqNJIox7Y
— 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.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
3 hours ago
- The Guardian
Australia news live: federal court to hear Bruce Lehrmann appeal; Labor to tweak pension and welfare calculations
Update: Date: 2025-08-19T20:37:32.000Z Title: Federal court to hear Bruce Lehrmann appeal Content: Bruce Lehrmann's appeal against the federal court ruling that he was not defamed by Network 10 and Lisa Wilkinson is due to be heard today. In April last year, Justice Michael Lee found that on the balance of probabilities Lehrmann raped former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins in Parliament House in Canberra in 2019, and that Lehrmann was therefore not defamed when Wilkinson interviewed Higgins about the case on The Project. Lehrmann is appealing on grounds including that the sexual assault described by Lee was 'substantially inconsistent' with the violent rape portrayed on The Project, according to submissions to the appeal filed with the court in March. Lehrmann's legal team say he was denied procedural fairness because the case which was found to be true was not put to him in cross-examination. The appeal against that finding will be heard over three days in Sydney before the full court of justices – Michael Wigney, Craig Colvin, and Wendy Abraham. The hearing starts at 10.15am and we will be blogging updates here. Read more about the appeal here: Update: Date: 2025-08-19T20:34:35.000Z Title: Welcome Content: Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I'm Martin Farrer with the best of the overnight stories and then Nick Visser will take the wheel. The opposition leader, Sussan Ley, has accused Anthony Albanese of 'mismanaging' Australia's relationship with Israel after Benjamin Netanyahu lashed out overnight, calling him a 'weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia's Jews'. More in a moment. Labor will end the Morrison-era freeze on deeming rates in a move that will see people claiming Centrelink payments pay more in tax on their financial assets. Social services minister, Tanya Plibersek, said incremental rises would take place from next month. More shortly. A man was shot dead in western Sydney last night in the latest shooting to hit the city. Witnesses told police the man was targeted while in a car in Winston Hills. It follows an attack in Forest Lodge on Sunday in which one man was killed and another injured. More details coming up. And today sees the start of Bruce Lehrmann's appeal against last year's loss in his defamation case against Network 10 and Lisa Wilkinson. We'll bring you lots more on that during the day, once it gets going.
Daily Mail
8 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Star boxer Nikita Tszyu reveals the troubling reason he quit his old life as a white-collar worker
Nikita Tszyu has revealed that a 'spiritual experience', where he realised that he enjoyed 'inflicting pain and being a little devil', was the reason behind why he opted to quit his job in architecture and instead pursue a full-time career in boxing. The 27-year-old Australian is set to make his return to the ring on Wednesday night following a year-long hiatus. The 10-0 southpaw is set to square off against Macedonian fighter Lulzim Ismaili, aged 28, at the ICC Sydney Theatre. Tszyu, who is the younger brother of Aussie star Tim Tszyu and the son of former world champion Kostya, had previously pursued a career with international architectural firm Woods Bagot. As a youngster, it looked as though Nikita would follow his dad and brother into the sport, impressing as a junior fighter before opting to quit at the age of 16 to pursue a career in architecture. He'd later gain a Bachelor's degree in Architectural Design at the University of Technology Sydney. But he would feel unfulfilled by the line of work. 'I've never spoken about this before, but I had a spiritual experience that showed me my true desires in life,' the fighter told The Courier Mail. 'It was a vision of pain and suffering, darkness and evil thoughts. 'At that stage of my life, it was showing me the things I desired most in life, and that was inflicting pain and being a little devil. 'It was essentially the feelings I get from boxing. 'So I knew I'd regret it for the rest of my life if I didn't pursue boxing while I still could.' Nikita explained that boxing has provided him with a way to deal with those dark thoughts, adding that he didn't know where they came from. 'Boxing is the legal way to unleash it,' the fighter added. But he is OK if he doesn't win world titles. In fact, Nikita explained that he wants to use boxing, and his dark thoughts, to help provide for his family. 'Once boxing is done, my plan is to have that side of me released through being on a farm with animals and out in the wilderness. 'I want to use that darkness to feed my family.' Nikita, who revealed last week that he had been eating his wife's placenta and drinking her breast milk in a bid to ingest more vitamins, last fought in August 2024, where he bested Koen Mazoudier at the ICC Exhibition Centre in Sydney. Interestingly, should he win on Wednesday night in Sydney, there is talk that he could headline a fight card in Las Vegas on the same weekend as the NRL's opening round extravaganza in Sin City in 2026. It is an opportunity that excites the 27-year-old fighter, but what's even more enticing is that he could come up against heavyweight great Evander Holyfield's son, Evan, among several other big names. That's according to Fox Sports, who claim the idea had initially been to have his older brother Tim headline the event. Nikita branded the news 'perfect'. 'Already having so many Australians there in Las Vegas, the atmosphere would be electric,' Nikita said. 'Right now, I'm taking each fight as it comes. 'And I do have to take care of business here before heading overseas. 'But what I like is new experiences. 'And being able to experience something that the greatest boxers in the world do – fighting in Las Vegas, the pinnacle – it's something I would absolutely love.
The Guardian
8 hours ago
- The Guardian
Five to watch: the Wallaroos who can shape the Women's Rugby World Cup
Australia begin their Women's Rugby World Cup campaign with a clash against Samoa on 23 August and high hopes of at least matching their best result at the tournament when it was last held in England. The Wallaroos finished third at the global showpiece 15 years ago but if the current No 6-ranked side are to survive their pool, let alone snatch a breakthrough World Cup crown, they must first face down the game's biggest star, the US's Ilona Maher, as well as host England. These are the five players who can help lift the Wallaroos to new heights and lay down a marker before Australia host the World Cup in 2029. At only 163cm, Sydney winger Miller is the Wallaroos' pocket rocket at this World Cup. The former gymnastics prodigy boasts serious pedigree – her aunty Gail won gold in water polo at the 2000 Olympics and an uncle represented Australia as a boxer. Most vitally, the 23-year-old has got speed to burn and evasive skills to light up this tournament. Miller only took up rugby in 2021 when Covid left her itching for more physicality from sport. The core fitness, leg strength and flexibility she had honed on the gymnastics mat made her an instant success and elite striking skills from her football days make her a handy goalkicker. With her arsenal of athletic gifts, Miller inspired the Waratahs to the 2024 Super Rugby title, scoring three tries in the grand final, then rising to the occasion with another four for the Wallaroos against Fiji in July. That explosive power and courage in contact make Miller key to Australia's left-edge attack. The 18-cap flyer has shelved a double degree in psychology and cognitive science to chase her rugby dreams. Yet having scored so often and never celebrated with a pike, sissone or backflip (although she has done the splits in a team photo), there'd be no better place for Miller to dip into her gymnast's bag of tricks than after a match-winner at this World Cup. The larrikin utility back from central Queensland finished the 2024 Test season as the Wallaroos' highest scorer with 81 points. But Cramer arrives at this World Cup with a point to prove, having been displaced from her favoured full-back spot by rookie Caitlyn Halse. Playing the 2021 tournament in New Zealand means Cramer's big-match experience and icy calm attitude under fire across her 30 Tests will be crucial in Australia's quest for a semi-final berth. At 32, Cramer's value on the playing field is matched by her team-bonding qualities in the squad. A proud Indigenous woman from the Yiman people, the self-described 'old chook' has deep life experience, having taught resilience skills as a youth worker in high schools. Then there is her work as a labourer. Cramer's Instagram is full of videos of her wielding jackhammers and cement mixers on the job. Surely there is no truer 'utility' in the game. Cramer has of late put aside a passion for growing cactus to play for Exeter Chiefs in the UK where she is a beloved favourite with fans and teammates on the team bus. That experience in English conditions – and her hybrid skills from touch football, football and rugby sevens – could be crucial in this World Cup tilt, and Cramer's mooted future as a coach. If World Cup experience counts, these Wallaroos need look no further than Marsters. The 2025 tournament will be the 31-year-old flanker's third after featuring in 2014 and 2021, and she goes into rugby's big jamboree as the most-capped Wallaroo with 40 Tests. She's done it with great tenacity and versatility, having played flanker, hooker, tighthead or loosehead prop (once all three in a single Test), even filling in as a centre at the 2014 World Cup. Ever since she ran out for Boroondara juniors as a four-year-old, Marsters has been a ball player, as dextrous with her offloads as she is dynamic in her charges. Little wonder the Western Force poached the longtime Melbourne Rebel as their marquee signing in 2025. And if recent form is an indicator, Marsters has plenty of football left in her. A gatecrashing try against Wales earlier this month showed the hunger and cunning of the Victorian veteran, exactly the sort of ruthlessness the Wallaroos need to smash out of the World Cup pool stages. After the Australian women's sevens side won Olympic gold in Brazil in 2016, a generation of schoolgirls back home started to dream of wearing the gold. Many are now bursting through the ranks as sevens stars and Wallaroos, with gifted flyhalf Hinds leading the new wave of hybrid heroes by debuting at a World Cup. The Maroubra Magic playmaker is a mix of the nation's football codes, having excelled at Australian rules, rugby league and touch football before becoming the youngest member of the sevens squad at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. The then teenager kicked on even further in 2022, winning rugby's coveted sevens triple crown – a gold medal at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, plus titles at the World Cup and world series final. After a second Olympics in Paris and some goal kicking glory in Madrid, Hinds – 'Dolly' to her mates – joined injured sevens star Charlotte Caslick in switching from rugby sevens to the 15-a-side game and made her Test debut in May this year against Fiji. Loving Hinds' spark, coach Jo Yapp went on to blood the young gun in Tests against Canada, New Zealand and Wales. A criminology student away from rugby, Hinds is the Wallaroos' secret weapon at the World Cup. The last 12 months has seen the three youngest debutants in Wallaroos history – Halse (17 years, 242 days), Ruby Anderson (18 years, six days) and Ellis (17 years, 305 days). Of that trio, Ellis is smallest – 160cm and 60kg – but may have the biggest future. 'Baba' has been playing against women twice her size since debuting for the Waratahs aged 16. The trick, Ellis will twinkle, is simply not to get tackled. The Blacktown Scorpion winger rarely is, putting on the jets with such flair during the last 18 months that she won a Test debut against the Black Ferns in July and then blasted her way into this World Cup squad. Another Australian representative gymnast who tore up junior touch football and OzTag before rugby called, Ellis is a tiny dancer set for big things, if not at this tournament then at the 2029 World Cup in Australia. Don't judge Ellis by her size, warns Yapp. 'When you see what she lifts in the gym and how she fronts up physically in training, you know she doesn't play small.'
