AFL great dies using voluntary assisted dying laws

Australian Football League (AFL) player and coach Robert Walls has died aged 74, after using voluntary assisted dying laws.

Walls – a Carlton Football Club legend – won three premierships with the team as a player and one as coach, and later became a media figure and pundit.

He was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, a rare and aggressive form of blood cancer, in 2023.

His family told local media he died surrounded by his children, in his apartment which overlooked the home of AFL in Victoria, the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

The state of Victoria introduced voluntary assisted dying laws in 2019, which allow a person in the late stages of advanced disease to end their life using medication, with the approval of two doctors.

In a statement, Walls’ family said he died on Thursday morning, local time, “after 14 years as a league player, 16 years as a coach, 25 years as a commentator and a lifetime as a self-proclaimed ‘fan'”.

“Having battled cancer for more than two years, Robert did it his way and chose to end a fight that had seen him spend more than 250 nights in hospital during the past two years,” the statement continued.

In a post on X, Carlton FC paid tribute to the sporting icon, describing him as “one of our game’s great servants”.

Walls played more than 200 matches for Carlton FC, winning premierships in 1968, 1970 and 1972.

His coaching career included a 1987 win for Carlton, as well as guiding the Brisbane Lions and Richmond Tigers. He retired in 1997 and became a well-known AFL commentator.

Walls wife Erin died of cancer in 2006. He is survived by his three children and partner Julie, according to local media.