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When Barry Hall left St Kilda for the Swans in 2001, it was partly out of desire to shed a nickname he couldn’t stand.
It was in the late 1990s that the moniker ‘Big, Bad, Bustling Barry’ was coined and it quickly stuck.
While it never sat well with Hall, it was an instantly recognisable tag for a menacing, hulking forward with a boxing background and a short temper.
The bald head, the narrow eyes, the nose that already looks like it has been on the receiving end of more than a few punches – it all came together to form the image of the man.
As much as he might not like it, ‘Big, Bad Barry’ sits comfortably alongside Michael ‘Air’ Jordan and Greg Norman’s ‘Great White Shark’ for apt sporting nicknames.
But Hall’s determination to move on from the stigma attached to the nickname drove him to become one of the game’s best forwards and he did make enormous progress towards changing his reputation over several seasons.
He kept his temper in check well enough to becoming a three-time All-Australian, a premiership captain and, most importantly, a far less regular figure at the AFL Tribunal.
Hall also reaped financial rewards, regularly appearing in advertisements in Sydney in a sure sign he had morphed into a marketable professional sportsman, rather than just a hot-head.
But with one punch Hall undid all his good work and created the single moment for which he will be most remembered.
When he swung his left fist and felled West Coast defender Brent Staker in round four last season, it began a downward spiral that ended this week in his inglorious resignation with a third of the 2009 campaign remaining and the Swans still in finals contention.
The image of Staker’s eyes rolling back in his head as he crumpled to the ground has been replayed ad nauseam at home and as far abroad as Denmark and the United States.
It is the image that will define his career.
Not even holding aloft a premiership cup in 2005, the club’s first for a record 72 years, can surpass the Staker punch.
He was lucky to even play that grand final, having thrown a soft jab at St Kilda’s Matt Maguire in a preliminary final the week before, but on that occasion he found widespread sympathy as he fought the charge.
There was no sympathy after the Staker incident, however, with Hall attracting only condemnation for his action.
The backlash was severe, with medical experts even being quoted on the possibility Staker could have been killed as a result of the haymaker.
A seven-week suspension was quickly followed by another stint on the sidelines in a club-imposed ban after throwing a punch at Collingwood’s Shane Wakelin in his second game back.
It seemed Hall was simply unable to control himself, something he admitted in his retirement press conference this week.
Some tried to defend his actions by saying he got little help from umpires and was frustrated by the defensive attention he attracted, but it was no different from what other key forwards face every week.
When another punch was thrown against Adelaide’s Ben Rutten in what proved his last game on June 27, it became clear to all including Hall that he could no longer be trusted on the field.
Despite stating earlier this season he wanted to prove himself and earn one more contract for 2010, it was obvious he was unable to back up his words with on-field discipline.
He was on track to lead the club’s goal-kicking for a club record eighth straight season in 2009 and was Sydney’s only proven tall forward option, but it didn’t matter.
Hall simply had to go.
And the 32-year-old reluctantly concedes he knows how he will be remembered.
“I can tell you what I hope, but I think I’ll be remembered for the negative stuff, there’s probably no doubt about that,” he said.
“Unfortunately it hasn’t ended rosy, but that’s out of my control.”
That’s what has been so frustrating – surely it should have been in his control?
But he admitted this week he doesn’t even trust himself to stop throwing punches now in normal society, away from the football field, calling the actions “natural” and “instinctive”.
That is a real concern.
The Western Bulldogs have raised the possibility of signing Hall for 2010 and there is every chance he could help lead them to a premiership if he could remain fit and stop hitting people.
But surely it would be too big a risk.
It would almost be a relief for Hall to finally have a crack at a long-mooted boxing career and to see him in an environment where showing an ability to punch is lauded rather than vilified.
Hall has done enough to go down in history as one of the Swans’ better players.
But for all involved in the club – teammates, coaches, fans – it must also be a relief that the circus has finally ended.
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