played 41 games and kicked 77 goals for , taking his overall VFL tally to 259 games and 444 goals. Coaching career Fitzroy After he retired as a player, Walls replaced Bill Stephen as senior coach of the Fitzroy in 1981. Walls first task was a major clean-out of older players who were clearly "past it" after the club's disappointing 1980 season, Walls lifted the Lions to their best era since winning a premiership in 1944. Walls would coach Fitzroy Football Club from 1981-1985 for 115 games (60 wins – 54 losses – 1 draw). They improved from last in 1980 to fifth at the end of the home-and-away season in 1981, securing their finals berth with an upset win over Collingwood and then beating Essendon in the Elimination Final before failing by the narrowest of margins in the First Semi against the Magpies. 1982 was relatively disappointing due to a poor start, but with players like Gary Pert and Paul Roos from the club's recruiting zones and South Australian recruit Matt Rendell growing into stars, the Lions were back as a force at the end of the season. 1983 saw the Lions emerge after five rounds as favourites for the premiership and maintain that favouritism with a sensational win in a top-of-the-table clash with North Melbourne by 150 points with Rendell kicking eight goals besides destroying Gary Dempsey in the ruck. However, inevitable overconfidence saw the Lions lose form and finish fourth after losing two hard-fought finals. 1984, with injuries plaguing the club and its lack of depth apparent, was initially disappointing but a remarkable recovery saw them enter the five after the final round only to be crushed by Collingwood. In 1985, the Lions' financial crisis emerged to threaten their future and this, along with more injuries, caused them to drop to ninth with only seven wins and two losses to last-placed St Kilda. After this, Walls moved to his former club Carlton in a swap with David Parkin in a jointly announced agreement between Fitzroy Football Club and Carlton Football Club to swap senior coaches. Walls was then replaced by David Parkin as Fitzroy Football Club senior coach. Carlton Walls became senior coach of Carlton in 1986, when he replaced David Parkin in a jointly announced agreement with Fitzroy Football Club to swap senior coaches. Thanks in part to an influx of interstate recruits including South Australians