The news of Big Bad Bustlin' Barry Hall's immediate exit from the Swans may mark the passing of the last of football's hard men.
Hall's effectiveness has always relied, at least to some extent, on the opposition's wariness of him running through someone. Changes to interpretations of AFL rules over recent seasons have severely eroded Hall's capacity to intimidate.
He has never been just a footballer, but always a footballer with an incandescent wild streak. Reinterpretation of contact above the shoulders and wider application of it to more and more off-the-ball incidents and, more recently, clamping down on dumping opponents after they dispose of the ball have pulled the metaphorical teeth of football's most physically dangerous player.
It's hard to escape the conclusion that greater umpiring scrutiny, a poor reputation with the "men in white" and wall-to-wall video coverage have been at the heart of Hall's increasing frustration. Simply, he's been unable to play the game as he has known it.
Sadly for him, it may be that Hall was born about thirty years too late. It's not hard to picture some Hall "magic" within the Sensational Seventies when hard men like Neil Balme ruled the field with fists of iron. He wouldn't have been out of place in the Electrifying Eighties when the Hyphen, Lethal and Rotten Ronnie were thumping blokes regularly.
By the 90s, the writing was on the wall, but the noughties have seen the deliberate rough stuff pretty much eliminated at the elite level of the game. There's no place in the modern game for Hall. His pure football isn't good enough, or consistent enough, without the physical threat that used to accompany it.
The big issue for Hall will be whether he can convince another playing group and another coaching staff that he can deliver value — goals — without penalty — 50-metre and suspension. Talk about the Bulldogs looking for a quality big forward may end up being just that. It's hard to see Hall fitting into a structure that nurtures Brad Johnson. And would they want that disruption in the playing group anyway?
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
A ‘victim’ of changing expectations?
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Barry Hall
The news of Big Bad Bustlin' Barry Hall's immediate exit from the Swans may mark the passing of the last of football's hard men.Hall's effectiveness has always relied, at least to some extent, on the opposition's wariness of him running through someone. Changes to interpretations of AFL rules over recent seasons have severely eroded Hall's capacity to intimidate.
He has never been just a footballer, but always a footballer with an incandescent wild streak. Reinterpretation of contact above the shoulders and wider application of it to more and more off-the-ball incidents and, more recently, clamping down on dumping opponents after they dispose of the ball have pulled the metaphorical teeth of football's most physically dangerous player.
It's hard to escape the conclusion that greater umpiring scrutiny, a poor reputation with the "men in white" and wall-to-wall video coverage have been at the heart of Hall's increasing frustration. Simply, he's been unable to play the game as he has known it.
Sadly for him, it may be that Hall was born about thirty years too late. It's not hard to picture some Hall "magic" within the Sensational Seventies when hard men like Neil Balme ruled the field with fists of iron. He wouldn't have been out of place in the Electrifying Eighties when the Hyphen, Lethal and Rotten Ronnie were thumping blokes regularly.
By the 90s, the writing was on the wall, but the noughties have seen the deliberate rough stuff pretty much eliminated at the elite level of the game. There's no place in the modern game for Hall. His pure football isn't good enough, or consistent enough, without the physical threat that used to accompany it.
The big issue for Hall will be whether he can convince another playing group and another coaching staff that he can deliver value — goals — without penalty — 50-metre and suspension. Talk about the Bulldogs looking for a quality big forward may end up being just that. It's hard to see Hall fitting into a structure that nurtures Brad Johnson. And would they want that disruption in the playing group anyway?
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2 comments:
Good blog, hard to disagree with this.
Makes you wonder if recruiting staff have ever crossed of a junior on their list if he has a violent temperament and poor discipline on field.
Thanks for the comment on my ContestedFooty blog btw, just wondering if you'd be up for a link swap? Imo, our blogs are similar in both style and content.
Keep up the good work,
Julian
Thanks Julian. Perhaps I should be more controversial, harder to agree with, to generate more comment traffic?
I think recruiting staff definitely look at temperament and character. But they also weigh upside and downside.
There was a Draft documentary some years ago, featuring Fevola, Headland and Ramanauskas. The differences in temperament were striking and the outcomes, particularly off-field, are in line with those differences. Carlton would say the upside to Fevola compensates for the downside. As an outsider, I don't think that's the case.
You'll find the blogs are already linked (although harder to find at CF).
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