Carlton legend Robert Walls’ family reveals how his simple decision-making helped them accept voluntary assisted dying during his blood cancer fight.
Robert Walls’ final months were shaped by one clear belief, and his family says it began with “simple words” that convinced them voluntary assisted dying was the best option during his blood cancer fight.
Walls died on May 15 last year at the age of 74, passing away on his own terms.. For those close to him. the decision wasn’t presented as something sudden. but as the product of long-held principles about how he wanted to live—and how he did not want to face the end of life after being given an aggressive diagnosis.
The family revealed that Walls. a four-time premiership winner with Carlton and later a well-known coach. insisted he would not choose a path that left him enduring a drawn-out decline.. His son David said Walls told him: “I’m not going to get old and decrepit.” According to David. if voluntary assisted dying was available as an alternative. his father would go down that path.
Walls was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in late 2023. The cancer is rare and described as aggressive, with the family noting he began exploring other options because he did not want his final months marked by suffering as the disease took hold.
His sister Annette added that Walls “didn’t want his family to see what he was likely to go through” as the illness ravaged his body. The family’s account also highlighted how personal health battles shaped their thinking: Walls’ wife Erin previously died from lung cancer in 2006.
It was reported that Walls consumed a lethal drink under Victoria’s assisted dying laws.. The report stated that close friends were made aware of his plans in advance. and many of them later visited him in person.. Among those visitors were former premiership-winning Sydney Swans coach Paul Roos, along with Carlton teammates Peter Jones and Geoff Southby.
Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia affects the blood and bone marrow. where the body produces too many young white blood cells known as lymphocytes.. In this context. the family’s decision-making is presented as closely tied to the reality of a disease that can rapidly erode strength and independence. forcing patients and loved ones into difficult choices about what comes next.
Walls’ football legacy is one that reaches far beyond his final year.. He was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame and also listed in Carlton’s Team of the Century in 2000.. The Carlton Blues later paid tribute in a statement following his death. noting his span of involvement across the game as a player. coach. and media figure—an influence that stretched across roughly six decades.
The club’s statement also recalled that Walls savoured some of his most important football moments with Carlton, both as a performer and as part of the collective success he helped build. His achievements included four premierships with the Blues, and he also held the role of head coach.
After he finished coaching in 1999, Walls moved into media. He was involved in television and radio work, including roles connected to Seven, Ten and Foxtel, while also writing for newspapers and starring on radio, as the club noted.
Friends and colleagues often described Walls as a straight talker and a hard taskmaster, known for a no-nonsense approach. That reputation, according to the tribute, was evident during Carlton’s 1987 premiership season, when the club had to manage extraordinary pressures.
One of those pressures came with the death of star Des English. who was diagnosed with leukaemia the year before. alongside the career-ending car crash that almost killed Peter Motley.. The combination of those events deepened the challenge of that season. and Walls’ leadership during it was presented as especially striking given what the team faced beyond the football field.
For many supporters. the disclosure of how Walls approached voluntary assisted dying adds a different layer to the story of a football figure known for clarity.. The family’s account frames the choice not as a break from his personality. but as consistent with it—an insistence on control. dignity. and the willingness to decide early what kind of end he could live with.
Meanwhile. the details in the report about friends being informed in advance point to a wider social aspect of the decision: it was not kept entirely private. and the people around him were given time to be present.. In that sense. the final chapter of Walls’ life reflects both careful planning and the support network that formed around him as his health changed.
Robert Walls voluntary assisted dying acute lymphoblastic leukaemia Carlton AFL legend Victoria laws family statement