Barry Hall of Sydney evades Daniel Pratt of North Melbourne during the AFL 2nd Elimination Final between the Sydney Swans and the North Melbourne Kangaroos at ANZ Stadium. GSP Images
Michael Tuck medallist Barry Hall couldn’t have started life at the Western Bulldogs any better, prompting many pundits to believe the Dogs have solved their ‘power forward’ problem and are now 2010 Premiership favourites. But some maintain it’s a matter of time before ‘Big Bad Barry’ has another brain-snap.
The 33-year-old, who controversially ended his time at the Sydney Swans last year after a series of on-field incidents, appears to have given the Dogs what they need.
Seventeen goals in three games, including a man of the match performance in the Grand Final, certainly is a glowing endorsement for Hall.
Even St Kilda coach Ross Lyon acknowledged Hall after his side were beaten by the Dogs in Saturday’s Grand Final.
“I think the story is Barry Hall, isn’t it? Seven goals… Delivered a pre-season premiership, it’s a pretty big effort,” Lyon said.
There’s no doubt people are getting excited about the Dogs, but the worry remains Hall’s brain-snaps.
Could he lose the plot again, like he did too often in his difficult last two years at Sydney?
Nobody will forget his reckless punch on West Coast’s Brent Staker in early 2008, but there was also his attempted strike on Collingwood’s Shane Wakelin later that season, before his double 50m penalty melt-down against Hawthorn in 2009 and his crude hit on Adelaide’s Ben Rutten in what was his final game for the Swans.
There’s no doubt Hall was a frustrated figure during those last two years at Sydney, so has he got over it?
After sealing his trade to Whitten Oval in October, Hall was asked about his on-field aggression and responded: “There’s always going to be question marks and I don’t shy away from that but I want to repay the Bulldogs for showing some faith in me.
“I can’t promise anything … but I think I can get on top of it. Because it can end very badly if I don’t.”
At the time, Hall still had plenty to prove. After all, actions speak louder than words and his words offered ‘no promises’ at all.
But barely six months later, Hall certainly has won over his fair share of critics.
He appears to have a renewed zest about his footy.
The internal frustration which blighted his last two years in Sydney seems long gone.
Hall affably told the media after Saturday’s NAB Cup triumph: “One of the things I wanted to concentrate on (since joining the Bulldogs) was enjoying my football because it’s not going to last forever.
“A two-year contract is not a long time, so I really want to enjoy my football and not put too much pressure on myself. And it’s working at the moment.”
And the big man went onto give an insight into what went wrong at Sydney, as well as what’s going right for him, so far, at Footscray.
“I think particularly in Sydney I put a lot of pressure on myself to perform and I had a lot of good years there but towards the end it was unhealthy with the high expectations… it really weighed heavily on me,” Hall said.
“The Bulldogs gave me a chance, so I just want to enjoy it and not put too much pressure on myself. I’ve slotted in pretty nicely.”
Hall, though, stopped short of declaring his brain-snaps were gone for good, admitting he still wanted to remain intimidatory to opponents.
“I played my best footy doing that. In saying that, it has been damaging in the past and I’ve stepped over the line,” he said.
“Enjoying my football and using that as well, there’s a fine line, I don’t want to cross that again so I’m really conscious of how to use it.”
On the evidence of the pre-season, though, Hall appears a wiser and more-relaxed man which suggests he won’t be venturing across that fine line any time soon.
And you fancy playing with the club he supported as a kid, who are one of this season’s Premiership favourites, he will find it easy to enjoy his footy again in 2010.
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