Barry Hall

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Barry Hall

Personal information
Birth	February 8 1977 (1977--) (age 30),
Recruited from	Broadford/Murray U18 (TAC Cup)
Height/Weight	195cm, 102kg
Playing career¹
Debut	Round 9, May 26, 1996, St Kilda vs. Carlton, at Waverley Park
Team(s)	St Kilda (1996-2001) 88 games, 144 goals Sydney (2002-) 136 games, 395 goals
¹ Statistics to end of 2007 season
Career highlights
St Kilda leading goalkicker 1999, 2001 International Rules Series 2003, 2006 (co-captain) Sydney Swans Best and Fairest 2004 Co-captain 2005, 2006, 2007 All-Australian 2004, 2005, 2006 Sydney leading goalkicker 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 Premiership Captain 2005

Barry Hall (born February 8, 1977) is a forward with the Sydney Swans Australian rules football club and a prolific goalkicker. He is nicknamed "Big, Bad, Bustling Barry Hall" (also "Bazza", "Big Bad Barry" or various combinations of these) by media and football fans alike. The nickname dates back to the mid-late 1990s when it is believed Sandy Roberts, part of the Seven Network's AFL coverage, coined the term to describe Hall's uncompromising approach to opposition back men.

As a young man Hall was a prominent junior boxer but decided to focus on a career in Australian rules football.

Hall is instantly recognisable with his large stature, balding blond head and distinctive spider tattoo on his right shoulder.

St Kilda career

The tall full-forward made his AFL debut for St Kilda in 1996. He played for the Saints until 2001, kicking 144 goals in 88 games and being the club's leading goalkicker in the 1999 and 2001 seasons. His career best haul of 8.2 came with the Saints in round 16, 2001 against the Western Bulldogs. He left the Saints at the end of 2001 in style, kicking a goal on the final siren of a round 22 match against Hawthorn to win the match for the Saints. One of the main reasons for leaving was the rise of Nick Riewoldt and the recruitment of Fraser Gehrig.

Move to the Swans

He joined the Swans for the 2002 season and has prospered, leading the club's goalscoring in every season since and being named club best and fairest in 2004. He has said that he benefited from the move to Sydney, in particular the relative anonymity he enjoyed when first arriving. Hall was named in the All-Australian Team in 2004, 2005 and 2006.

Hall earned a reputation as a controversial player, with several appearances at the tribunal resulting in four suspensions for a total of 10 matches. He has given away almost twice as many free kicks as he has been given over his career, and in 2003 Swans coach Paul Roos questioned whether Hall was given all the free kicks he deserved. Umpires manager Jeff Gieschen then acknowledged that umpires may unintentionally be affected by the idea that Hall is big and strong enough to look after himself.

After an incident involving a 'love tap' on St Kilda's Matt Maguire in the 2005 Preliminary Final against St Kilda, Hall was reported for a level two striking and offered a one week suspension for a guilty plea. This suspension would have meant missing the next week's Grand Final. Hall successfully argued that it was a level one offence, reducing the penalty to a reprimand, and went on to captain the Swans to their first premiership in 72 years, defeating the West Coast Eagles in the Grand Final by 4 points. The following year's Grand Final was again between Sydney and the West Coast Eagles, with Sydney losing by 1 point. Many sports commentators commented on Barry Hall's sub-par performance during this Final as contributing to this loss.^[1]

In the Swans' April Fools' Day loss to Essendon he was the Swans best, booting seven goals, including the "Goal of the Week" for Round 1 and also picking up one Brownlow Medal vote.

Recently, he has been the star for the Sydney AFL Promotion called "Barry Hall Hall", in an attempt to educate Sydneysiders in the idiosyncrasies of AFL Culture.^[2]

In round 2, 2007, Hall suffered a knee injury when he hyper-extended it whilst opposing Richmond fullback Darren Gaspar. He struggled for the rest of this match and was taken off in the last quarter. His performances for the rest of the season were below the standard he had set in recent years.

See also

• After the siren kicks in Australian rules football

References

External links

• Barry Hall profile on the Official AFL Website of the Sydney Swans Football Club
• Barry Hall Hall

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