Premiership Eagle Tom Barrass has posted an emotional tribute to his late father, legendary WA newspaper reporter Tony Barrass, who passed away on Sunday morning.
Tony, who in 1989 became the first Australian journalist to be jailed for refusing to reveal a source in a court of law, was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2020.
He passed away at the age of 58 in his Perth home on the weekend with his family by his side.
Watch every match of the 2021 AAMI Community Series LIVE on Kayo. New to Kayo? Get your free trial now & start streaming instantly >
Tom on Wednesday posted a series of family photos, as well as single pictures of Tony during his time as a reporter, to his social media account.
“Rest In Peace to my beautiful father Tony Barrass,” Tom’s Instagram caption read.
“There is only one man I trust to gracefully put into words the extent of my love and gratitude for my dad and his teachings, but unfortunately he has put down his pen.
“Love you and miss you mate.”
West Coast AFLW players on Sunday wore black armbands in their game against Gold Coast as a tribute to Tony and show of support for Tom, who’s played 83 games for the Eagles since being drafted with Pick 43 in the 2013 draft.
Get all the latest AFL news, highlights and analysis delivered straight to your inbox with Fox Sports Sportmail. Sign up now!
Tony, a father of three, had a journalism career spanning nearly 40 years.
After a stint with the Sunday Times, Tony’s most recent work was as the chief media Adviser for former WA Liberal Party leader Liza Harvey.
“He was such a beautiful writer, but he was also such an engaging personality that you knew if you gave him a chance to spend some time with people, Tony was always going to suck the best out of them. He just got people to talk and he had a wonderful news nose,” said Paul Murray, Tony’s former editor at The West Australian.
“He was your archetypal, old-school, gumshoe reporter and it was combined with a talent for writing really engagingly. He was the full package and we used it to its absolute extent.”
Sarah Olle and Tom Morris are joined by Richmond’s Ellie McKenzie on the latest AFLWeekly podcast
