As the AFL cancels this Sunday’s match between the devastated Adelaide Crows and Geelong Cats, fan tributes for the late Phil Walsh continue to pour in.
Traditionally fierce foes, supporters from both the Crows and cross-town rival Port Adelaide are today united in grief for the man who shaped both of their clubs.
Phil, who was murdered this morning in his Somerton Park home , was 2015 head coach at Adelaide after a long stint in the senior coaching department at the Power.
Phil was a beloved footy figurehead in South Australia.
South Australians have flocked to the Adelaide Football Club’s headquarters at West Lakes, where flowers and scarves in the club’s red, blue and yellow colours are quickly stacking up.
Written on a Port Adelaide guernsey is this touching note of sympathy, “From all of us, who feel the pain of loss and human suffering, we live in hope that someday soon, we shall all #FlyAsOne.”
Adelaide Crows gear adorns the houses of devastated supporters.
Mourning Crows supporters across the footy-obsessed state are adorning letterboxes, front doors, and fences with their club scarves and posting them on social media using the club hashtag #WeFlyAsOne.
The slogan has been used as the official Crows promotional line this year, and now it’s taken on a whole new meaning following this morning’s horror events.
Once a symbol of pride, today the Crows scarf indicates sorrow.
As Woman’s Day has reported, Phil’s son Cy, 26, has been charged with his stabbing murder. Police were called to the home around 2am following emergency calls from neighbours about a domestic dispute.
Phil, 55, could not be revived from his injuries, while his wife was taken to the Flinders Medical Centre, reportedly with non-life threatening injuries to her legs.
Cy is under psychiatric watch at the same hospital and is expected to face a bedside hearing later today.
In a press conference earlier today, AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan told reporters that the scheduled clash between the Crows and Geelong on Sunday has been cancelled, with the teams splitting premiership points.
“It is not fair to ask the young men of the Adelaide Crows and Geelong Cats to play under these circumstances,” he says. “This is a decision of the competition as a mark of respect to Phil Walsh.”
