- Robert Walls won grand finals as a player and coach
- Diagnosed with rare and aggressive disease in 2023
The footy world is in mourning over the death of AFL legend Robert Walls, who won grand finals as a player and coach before ending his life using voluntary assisted dying laws on Thursday morning, aged 74.
Walls – who had been fighting a rare form of cancer – was a giant figure at Carlton, where he won the 1968, 1970 and 1972 flags as a player, before going on to lead the Blues to another grand final win as coach in 1987.
He played 218 games for the club from 1967 to 1978 before switching to Fitzroy, and led the Blues as coach from 1986 to 1989.
Once he finished coaching in 1999, Walls moved into the media, where he won acclaim for his work with Seven, Ten and Foxtel, in addition to writing for newspapers and starring on radio.
Walls died at his home in Melbourne in the company of his sons David and Daniel, daughter Rebecca and partner Julie, with a doctor present.
Robert Walls (pictured) was a true giant of the game after winning a total of four premierships as a player and coach, becoming one of the biggest icons for Carlton
He was diagnosed with the rare and aggressive cancer acute lymphoblastic leukemia in 2023 after noticing warning signs shortly before the grand final that year.
Doctors said he would not live past that Christmas, but he showed the grit he was famed for as he battled the disease long beyond expectations.
He made the decision to end his life several weeks ago,
More to come…
