The Western Bulldogs have revealed plans to pay tribute to football journalist Sam Landsberger following his shock death this week.
Herald Sun AFL writer Landsberger, 35, was hit by a truck as he headed to work in Richmond, Melbourne, on Tuesday morning, leaving his heartbroken family and friends devastated.
Police have since charged a man for allegedly refusing to provide a blood sample after the incident.
Tributes have poured in for the acclaimed football reporter, while the likes of Glenn Maxwell, Aaron Finch and Andrew Dillon have also shared warm words.
And the Bulldogs, who employ Landsberger’s father Jake as their club doctor, have revealed they will pay tribute to the lifelong fan ahead of their game against GWS Giants this weekend.
‘As a mark of respect to Sam Landsberger and his family (his father Jake was the club’s long-serving doctor) and to honour them, the Western Bulldogs will wear black armbands and display Sam’s image on the scoreboard before the game in Ballarat on Sunday,’ The Age’s AFL reporter Peter Ryan wrote on X.
The Landsberger family have been inundated with touching tributes from Sam’s colleagues and the wider football community, and he was held in high regard by all who knew the football and cricket journalist.
Jake said the family took comfort in the fact that their son’s final moments were spent talking on the phone with his mother.
The Western Bulldogs will pay tribute to Sam Landsberger this weekend
Football journalist Landsberger died after being hit by a truck on his way to work
“Anne was on the phone to Sam when it happened, she heard the bang, she heard the commotion and we were really worried that she had actually distracted him,” Jake told the Herald Sun.
‘Anne was talking to him as she crossed the road to meet (her friend and former Herald Sun colleague) Nick Smart.
‘The next thing I knew there was a commotion, a stranger picked up the phone and said, ‘Who am I speaking to?’. Anne said, ‘I’m Sam’s mother, who are you?’.
“And he said, ‘I’m sorry to say, but your son was just hit by a vehicle… he’s lying on the ground.’ The man initially engaged Sam in conversation until he lost consciousness.”
Jake revealed that the stranger sent the family a message via WhatsApp on Wednesday.
‘He texted us and said, ‘I told Sam I was on the phone with his mom and that he could rest easy knowing he was communicating with you through me.’
Reflecting on the outpouring of love for his son, Jake said: “I can’t put into words the comfort, joy and pride we feel about this.
‘By the time we both took two sleeping pills to go to bed at around 9pm on Tuesday, I had personally received over 250 messages and Anne probably the same.
‘The tributes, watching AFL360, seeing that The Tackle had been postponed, the stories all over the media… I said to Anne as we sat at our table crying our eyes out, I wish I could go back to the morgue at the coroner’s court, just wake Sam up briefly and say, ‘Sam, look how much they loved you, look how much they admired you. ‘
‘Because he had no idea. He didn’t realize it. I told him many times that this was his dream job. I would tell him that he had achieved his dream and he would look at me and say, ‘Yeah, thanks, Dad.’ He was very self-critical.
Lifelong Bulldogs fans, the AFL club will wear black armbands for Sunday’s game against GWS
Tributes have poured in for the much-loved AFL and cricket reporter this week.
“The extent of what we saw left us speechless.”
Jake, the Western Bulldogs’ long-time club doctor, described his son’s horrific death as a “nightmare” for the family.
“This is a nightmare for all of us,” she said. “We loved him so much.
“I remember telling patients, and we are experiencing this now, I remember telling them that a parent should never bury one of their children. And that is what is happening to us now.
“Anne’s mother passed away in New Zealand two or three months ago. She was 94. Not at this age (Sam was 35). It’s indescribable. We constantly look at each other and think: look what we’ve lost and what he’s lost in the future.”
The truck driver stopped at the scene and spoke to police about the circumstances of the collision.
The 45-year-old man, from Seaford in Melbourne’s south-east, was uninjured and released by police pending further enquiries.
Victoria Police confirmed roadside drug and alcohol tests carried out at the time came back negative.
But when officers asked him for a blood sample, he allegedly refused to do so.
The driver was charged by summons, given a driving ban notice and will appear in Melbourne Magistrates Court on September 19, according to Seven News.
“The death of the 35-year-old pedestrian remains under investigation,” Victoria Police said.