Vale Robert Walls

[Jascave]

To give you an idea of the impact the late Robert Walls had on Brisbane, consider this:

-When he arrived in Brisbane, no one wanted the Bears coaching job. When he left, there was a conga line looking to be Brisbane's new coach;

-When Walls arrived in Brisbane, the Bears were based at Carrara. When he left, they were at the Gabba.

-When Walls became the Bears new coach in 1991, they had one of the oldest playing lists in the AFL. When he left, they had one of the youngest playing list, and many of the players that played under Walls went on to play in the Brisbane Lions 3 premierships in a row under Leigh Matthews. Walls laid the foundations for Brisbane's future success.

 

[carloss]

2007: Fond memories of an old sparring partner

When it came to kicking, scratching, spitting, abusing and coat hanging, Kevin Sheedy and I were happy to accommodate each other. Out of that keen rivalry, a begrudging respect grew.

www.theage.com.au

 

[Shane Heard]

Heard an old clip today of Walls talking about how he had a verbal go at Roger Merrett once at a qrt break vs Essendon as coach and Ronnie Andrews came behind him and punched him hard in the back which would’ve hurt.

The force of the Ronnie blow took one of Walls’ slip-on shoes off his foot and he had to walk back to the box with one shoe on.

He took one for the team lol

 

[Shane Heard]

2007: Fond memories of an old sparring partner

When it came to kicking, scratching, spitting, abusing and coat hanging, Kevin Sheedy and I were happy to accommodate each other. Out of that keen rivalry, a begrudging respect grew.

www.theage.com.au

Walls raking Sheedy’s face. Tit for tat revenge on each other.

 

[010203]

I was a baby when Walls' tenure at the Brisbane Bears ended so I only knew him through his work in the media. I enjoyed Jake Niall's piece in The Age about Robert Walls' time in the footy media.

 

[Gough]

Postecoglu wearing a black armband at Villa overnight which I bet was for Walls.