Crows, Port put AFL rivalry on hold

The Adelaide Crows and Port Adelaide have put their fierce AFL rivalry on hold as they unite in grief at the death of Phil Walsh.

Walsh, who was allegedly murdered by his son on July 3, was coach of the Crows after previous stints working at Port.

The South Australian clubs meet on Sunday at Adelaide Oval and plan to honour Walsh.

“The rivalry has been there for many years and I guess after such tragic circumstances, the rivalry just goes out the window,” Port captain Travis Boak told reporters on Monday.

“We’re 100 per cent behind Adelaide at this period of time and will continue to be really united as football clubs.

“We will go out and play a brand of footy that Phil will love.”

The Crows’ scheduled game two days after Walsh’s death was abandoned and they returned to action in a loss to West Coast on Saturday night.

Adelaide captain Taylor Walker said despite the raw emotion displayed, playing again was welcomed by his team.

“We had two weeks of sitting around thinking about the memories Phil left with us – we’ll probably do that for a long time,” Walker told reporters on Monday.

“But to play footy is a bit of an out for the boys and lets a little bit of steam off.

“On the weekend was a bit of a tough one as a group.

“But for us we started this journey. Walshy has put in the cornerstones – we know exactly what he wanted, so now it’s up to us to continue that.”

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