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Sydney coach Paul Roos has strongly suggested that the AFL career of troubled forward Barry Hall could be over. Roos has clearly run out of patience after the former co-captain’s latest on-field brain snap.
The AFL match review panel on Monday offered Hall a two-match suspension after he was reported for striking Adelaide fullback Ben Rutten during Saturday’s match.
The incident was assessed as intentional, high contact but low impact, and Hall will most likely plead guilty to accept the ban.
There was strong speculation that Hall’s poor tribunal record would mean a four game-suspension.
Regardless, Roos’ comments on Monday indicate that the Crows game could become Hall’s last AFL appearance.
“I’m probably sick of standing here talking about it,” Roos said.
“At some point, always the club is bigger than the individual.
“We’re all frustrated. We’re all disappointed and we all had hoped it would stop.
“But clearly, it hadn’t.
“The first part of the process is obviously the tribunal so we’ll let that take its course.
“His actions clearly don’t display that he does want to play.
“So that will be part of the discussion that we’ll have with him.”
Hall last year served a seven-match ban for striking West Coast utility Brent Staker and also underwent anger management counselling during a club-imposed ban.
In the last quarter of the narrow round-11 loss to Hawthorn at the MCG this season, Hall gave away three successive 50m penalties at a crucial stage of the game, gifting the Hawks a goal.
Hall played his 250th game against the Crows, but his AFL career has been equal parts brilliance and bash.
The week he returned from the Staker suspension last season, Hall received a one-game suspension for attempting to strike Collingwood opponent Shane Wakelin.
The Swans also handed him a one-week club suspension for the Wakelin incident.
Hall co-captained the Swans to their historic 2005 premiership but he had to win a tribunal case to play in the grand final.
The Rutten incident is the 15th charge of Hall’s career, which has so far featured 24 games lost through suspension.
Hall is a three-time All-Australian who played 88 games for St Kilda from 1995-2001 before his trade to the Swans.
Last year was the seventh-straight season he topped Sydney’s goalkicking.
Hall was a talented junior boxer and he is likely to switch to a professional career in the ring once he stops playing in the AFL.
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