Parkin and Walls have each spent different times at the helm of either Fitzroy or the Bears (or both) and will return to the Club to share their stories at the next Lion Loyalist Luncheon held at Etihad Stadium from 12 noon on Friday 22 July.
Tickets for the event are just $140 per person and include a magnificent two-course lunch, premium beverages and a rare insight from these two highly respected commentators into their time with the Club.
David Parkin first made his name in football as a tough back-pocket player with Hawthorn where he played 211 matches in a career spanning from 1961-1974. He played in the Hawks’ 1971 premiership, won their 1965 Best & Fairest award and captained the club for five seasons.
Parkin was appointed Senior Coach at Hawthorn in 1977 and led the Hawks to the premiership in just his second season in charge. He remained with Hawthorn for a further four seasons before moving to Carlton where he won back-to-back premierships in 1981 and 1982.
At the end of a successful stint at Carlton, Parkin was lured to Fitzroy in 1986 and coached the Lions to the Preliminary Final in his first season. The 1986 season remains a fond memory among most Lions fans as it was the closest Fitzroy came to winning an elusive ninth AFL premiership prior to the 1996 merger.
Parkin lasted just three seasons with Fitzroy before returning to the Blues where remained for a decade between 1991-2000. He was at the helm when Carlton won the 1995 premiership and was later named Coach in their Team of the Century.
Although he never coached again at senior level, Parkin was employed back at Hawthorn for a period of time as a Director of Coaching and has only recently returned to the Lions in a consultancy capacity.
He continues his involvement in football as a media commentator on a range of programs.
Like Parkin, Robert Walls has a strong connection with both Carlton and the Lions considering he played and coached with both.
Walls played 218 games (including three premierships) and kicked 367 goals in more than a decade with Carlton before obtaining clearance to join Fitzroy midway through the 1978 season.
He went on to play a total of 41 games in three seasons with the Lions before retiring at the end of 1980. Upon retirement, Walls immediately took over as Fitzroy coach in 1981 and helped lift the Lions to arguably their best era since winning the 1944 premiership.
He was at the helm when the likes of Paul Roos, Gary Pert and Matt Rendell grew into stars of the competition and together helped lead the Club to regular Finals appearances from 1981-1985.
But after the Lions dropped to 9th in 1985, Walls moved to his ‘other’ former club Carlton - coincidentally in a direct swap with Parkin who took the reins at Fitzroy.
Like he did at Fitzroy, Walls oversaw the recruitment of Stephen Kernaham, Craig Bradley and Peter Motley to the Blues and had immediate success with a Grand Final appearance in 1986 followed by a premiership in 1987. He was eventually let go by the club in 1989 after a struggling Carlton lost a rare home match to the then ‘lowly’ Brisbane Bears.
Coincidentally, Walls was appointed as the Bears’ Senior Coach two years later and went on to coach the club from 1991-1995.
In an otherwise tough period, Walls introduced the likes of Michael Voss, Jason Akermanis and Justin Leppitsch into the side as young recruits and eventually reaped the benefits by leading the Bears to their first ever Finals appearance in 1995. The history-making Finals appearance was on the back of six wins from the team’s last seven matches which secured them 8th position. The Bears were ultimately eliminated by the Parkin-led Blues in what proved to be Walls’ final season in Brisbane.
Another direct swap at the end of 1995 saw John Northey depart Richmond for Brisbane and Walls front the Tigers where he remained for two seasons.
At the conclusion of Walls’ career in football, he became highly sought after as a media commentator. To this day he remains a regular contributor to The Age newspaper, 3AW’s radio broadcast and Network Ten’s television coverage.
These two fine players and coaches have crossed paths on a number of occasions throughout their football careers and share a number of similarities including their involvement in the Brisbane Lions’ history.
So don’t miss your chance to hear from David Parkin and Robert Walls at this special Lion Loyalist Luncheon event on Friday 22 July.
For bookings and enquiries, please contact the Brisbane Lions Victorian office on 03 8850 5600 or email melbourne@lions.com.au
Alternatively, you can CLICK HERE to download and complete an event booking form.
