Barry Hall

Barry Hall (born 8 February 1977) is a retired professional Australian rules footballer who played for the St Kilda Football Club, Sydney Swans and Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is considered to be one of the best forwards of the modern era, being named All-Australian, leading his club's goalkicking on eleven occasions and captaining the Sydney Swans to their 2005 AFL Grand Final victory. In July 2011, Hall created history by becoming the first player to kick 100 goals for three AFL teams.

For the Australian diplomat, see Barry Hall (diplomat).

Barry Hall
Barry Hall playing for the Swans
Personal information
Full name Barry Hall
Nickname(s) Bazza, Big Bad Barry
Date of birth (1977-02-08) 8 February 1977
Place of birth Victoria
Original team(s) Murray Bushrangers (TAC Cup)
Draft No. 19, 1995 national draft
Height 194 cm (6 ft 4 in)
Weight 104 kg (229 lb)
Position(s) Forward
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1996–2001 St Kilda 088 (144)
2002–2009 Sydney 162 (467)
2010–2011 Western Bulldogs 039 (135)
Total 289 (746)
International team honours
Years Team Games (Goals)
2003–2006 Australia 4
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2011.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Hall began his career at the St Kilda Football Club where he twice led the club's goalkicking in 1999 and 2001. He is best known for his career with the Sydney Swans. He was one of the Swans' best players during his time at the club, topping the club goalkicking from 2002 to 2008 and co-captaining the side from 2005 to 2007, including the club's drought breaking premiership in 2005. He also featured heavily in the AFL's promotion in Sydney, gaining a similarly high-profile to Tony Lockett[1] which saw him featured in a 2006 AFL and Swans joint promotion known as "Barry Hall Hall".

The former junior boxing champion's AFL career has been marred by a reputation for on-field aggression, which has earned him the label of football "wild man" and he became one of the most feared players on the field. Several controversial and highly publicised incidents (often called "brain snaps" by the media) and tribunal appearances have interrupted his career and contributed to a change of clubs.

Early life

Hall was born in Victoria and grew up in Broadford, where he played his junior football. His other interests were martial arts and boxing. At the age of 12 he moved to Melbourne to pursue a boxing career.[2] Training in a makeshift boxing gym in his father's garage, he won a state title in his early teenage years and had fought in 15 fights by the age of 15.

Hall also showed a talent for Australian football. After playing for the Murray Bushrangers in the TAC Cup and attracting the eye of talent scouts, he decided to focus on football.

AFL career

St Kilda (1996–2001)

Hall made his AFL debut for St Kilda in 1996. He helped fill the void of the record-breaking forward Tony Lockett, who had moved to the Swans the previous season. His most memorable performance for the Saints was his 3-goal burst during a five-minute period in the second quarter of the 1997 Grand Final, in which put his side in a strong position going into half-time, despite St Kilda going on to be defeated by Adelaide by 31 points at the MCG. He played for St Kilda until 2001, kicking 144 goals in 88 games and being the club's leading goalkicker in the 1999 and 2001 seasons. He kicked a career-best 8 goals in Round 16, 2001 against the Western Bulldogs. He left St Kilda at the end of 2001 in style, kicking a goal after the final siren of a Round 22 match against Hawthorn to win the match. One of the main reasons for leaving was the rise of Nick Riewoldt, Justin Koschitzke and the recruitment of Fraser Gehrig, as well as salary cap constraints. Ironically, he left the year before Brian Waldron was appointed the club's CEO.

Sydney Swans (2002–2009)

Hall joined the Swans for the 2002 season and prospered under the coaching of Paul Roos. He led the club's goalscoring in every season up until 2009 and was 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, playing alongside Tony Lockett in Lockett's comeback-from-retirement season. Hall's form reached a high in 2004 when he was named in the All-Australian team. He then took his game to a whole new level from 2005, and not only bagged 80 goals for the season and a second placing for the Coleman Medal, but set up many more goals as well. He was selected in the All-Australian list in 2005 and 2006 and captained the Swans to their historic 2005 Grand Final premiership victory, their first since 1933. He led the Swans goalkicking in seasons 2005 to 2006, and in that two-year period he kicked two bags of seven against Essendon in their matches in Melbourne (a win in 2005 but a loss in 2006). He also led the club's goalkicking in seasons 2007 and 2008, but in those two seasons he struggled with suspension and injury. He has also kicked big bags of goals against notably weaker opponents such as Carlton.

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. Hall struggled with injuries through the 2007 season and his form was generally considered to be somewhat down from his peak, although he played a number of outstanding games and still led the club's goalkicking with 44. In 2008, Hall began the season in good form but, following a punch thrown against West Coast Eagles player Brent Staker and a further incident where he aimed a punch at a Collingwood player, he missed a number of games and was suspended from the Swans' team on 8 July 2008.

In Round 19, 2008, against the Fremantle Football Club, he kicked the last goal in the final minute and won the game by four points. He kicked a bag of goals in that game and in Round 20, against the Geelong Cats, he kicked five goals and one behind. In spite of the Swans' 39-point defeat to the reigning premiers he was the leading goalkicker for the game. In 2008 Hall was awarded the Paul Roos Award for the best player in the finals. He finished the year as Sydney's leading goalkicker for the seventh consecutive year, equalling the club record of Len Mortimer.

Hall kicked his 600th career goal against the Western Bulldogs in Round 10, 2009, when he kicked six in that game. After a striking incident involving Adelaide's Ben Rutten in his 250th game, Hall was put under an immense amount of pressure from coach Paul Roos to leave the club. Hall called a press conference on 7 July 2009 to announce that he was no longer going to play for the Swans. He kicked four goals in his last game for the club.[3][4]

Western Bulldogs (2010–2011)

It was announced on 6 October 2009 that the Western Bulldogs had agreed to trade draft pick 47 for Hall with Sydney.[3] On his Bulldogs' debut, in the second round of the 2010 NAB Cup, he kicked six goals against Hawthorn. He then kicked four goals against Port Adelaide and had a part in the final and winning goal which gave the Bulldogs a place in the NAB Cup grand final against his first club, St Kilda. In the final he kicked seven goals, including five in the last quarter, to lead the Bulldogs to their first grand final success of any kind since 1970. He was awarded the Michael Tuck Medal for best on ground.[5] He made his home-and-away debut for the Bulldogs in Round 1 against Collingwood at Docklands Stadium, but his side were defeated by 36 points. Hall kicked three goals.

Hall's good form at the Bulldogs continued, with four and five goals in successive games helping him get back to his best form of his early years at the Sydney Swans. In 2010 Hall was tripped by Essendon defender and rival Dustin Fletcher in Round 10, costing Fletcher a one-match suspension. In Round 15 in 2010, he kicked six goals against Carlton and also suffered an ankle injury. He finished second on the 2010 Coleman Medal table with 73 goals in the home and away season, behind Richmond's Jack Riewoldt. He kicked his 700th goal against the Gold Coast Suns in Round 3, 2011 and in Round 17, 2011 against North Melbourne he became the first player to kick over 100 goals for three different clubs when he kicked five goals.

On 19 July 2011, Hall announced his intention to retire at the end of the 2011 season. Despite captaining Sydney to their 2005 premiership, Hall stated that he wanted to be remembered as a Bulldogs player due to them giving him a last chance at playing AFL football in 2010.

Hall ended his AFL career with 40 goals in his last eight matches and 55 overall for the 2011 AFL season. In total he kicked 746 career AFL goals, placing him 14th on the all-time goal-kicking list.

Controversies

Sam McFarlane incident

Whilst playing in a reserves game for St Kilda against North Melbourne in Round 14 in 1997, Hall struck Sam McFarlane, a slightly built wingman, in the jaw, breaking it in three places. McFarlane spent the next three days in hospital getting the jaw wired back together and was sidelined for ten weeks. Although McFarlane returned for the final two games of the year, he never returned to play league football again.[6]

Steven Febey incident

In the 1998 second semi-final St Kilda held the lead over Melbourne near the end of the second quarter. After being tackled by Steven Febey, Hall dropped his knees into Febey's head and after regaining his feet he slung Adem Yze to the ground. In frustration his outburst lead to an altercation with teammates Matthew Lappin and Shane Wakelin where Hall had to be restrained by his teammates and trainers. The incident resulted in a four-match suspension and Melbourne then took control of the match and won easily, ending St Kilda's 1998 season.

Matthew Primus incident

In July 2002, while playing for Sydney, Hall was suspended for five matches after being found guilty of clawing the face of Port Adelaide ruckman Matthew Primus during a Swans loss at the SCG. Hall had been charged on video evidence with making "unreasonable and unnecessary contact to the face". Hall acknowledged he had made contact with Primus's face, but denied he had tried to eye-gouge him. "I made face contact which I regret, but it certainly looks worse than what it was" said Hall.[7]

Matt Maguire incident

After an incident involving a punch to the stomach of St Kilda's Matt Maguire in a 2005 preliminary final match, 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's representation successfully argued that the incident was 'in play' despite the ball being 50 metres away. As a result, the charge was reduced to a level one offence which reduced the penalty to a reprimand and he went on to captain the Swans to their first premiership in 72 years, defeating the West Coast Eagles in the grand final by four points.[8]

Brent Staker incident

In an incident which shocked Sydney and West Coast fans alike, in Round 4, 2008, Hall was reported for striking West Coast Eagles defender Brent Staker.[9] Video footage from the incident indicated that contact was made with a punch to the jaw. Staker took no further part in the game, remaining off the field for the duration of the game. Later in the same game, Hall broke his wrist on the metal railing behind a soft cardboard advertising board. After the game the Match Review Panel ranked the incident as intentional, severe impact and high contact, therefore the offence was directly referred to the AFL Tribunal. He was subsequently suspended for seven games, one of the most severe punishments in the modern era by the AFL Tribunal.[10] Video footage of the incident was shown on television as far abroad as Denmark and the United States on the ESPN network.[11]

Shane Wakelin incident

Hall was handed a one-match suspension for an attempted strike on Collingwood's Shane Wakelin, his former St Kilda teammate, in Round 14, 2008.[12] Sydney later announced the team would not play Hall indefinitely.[13][14] Sydney co-captain Brett Kirk later claimed that Hall's habit of hitting opposition players off the ball is a "bad habit".[15] Wakelin later on admitted he had "played for a free kick".

Scott Thompson incident

On 22 May 2010 Hall was again the centre of attention when he was pushed over by North Melbourne defender Scott Thompson while tying his shoelace, triggering an ugly altercation between Hall and several other North Melbourne players. Hall reacted to the taunts by putting Thompson in a headlock and was subsequently reported for both wrestling and rough conduct. He was later found guilty of wrestling and fined, but not guilty of rough conduct.[16]

Statistics
[17]
Legend
 G  Goals  B  Behinds  K  Kicks  H  Handballs  D  Disposals  M  Marks  T  Tackles
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
1996 St Kilda 254231813311040.50.84.53.37.82.51.0
1997 St Kilda 25151413705812852220.90.94.73.98.53.51.5
1998 St Kilda 2513645736932890.50.34.42.87.22.20.7
1999 St Kilda 2520413618458242141132.11.89.22.912.17.10.7
2000 St Kilda 2519372115174225126131.91.17.93.911.86.60.7
2001 St Kilda 251744231403617697122.61.48.22.110.45.70.7
2002 Sydney 117553115436190114103.21.89.12.111.26.70.6
2003 Sydney 124643521873291167222.71.59.13.012.17.00.9
2004 Sydney 1247439244101345191303.11.610.24.214.48.01.3
2005 Sydney 126804129991390206323.11.611.53.515.07.91.2
2006 Sydney 125783828382365216493.11.511.33.314.68.62.0
2007 Sydney 120443017662238135242.21.58.83.111.96.81.2
2008 Sydney 115413616540205132112.72.411.02.713.78.80.7
2009 Sydney 111314822911164172.81.27.52.610.15.81.5
2010 Western Bulldogs 2824804119181272143283.31.78.03.411.36.01.2
2011 Western Bulldogs 281555171123815075123.71.17.52.510.05.00.8
Career 289 746 421 2544 908 3452 1897 308 2.6 1.5 8.8 3.1 11.9 6.6 1.1

Honours and achievements
Brownlow Medal votes
Season Votes
1996 0
1997 0
1998 0
1999 9
2000 3
2001 6
2002 11
2003 7
2004 11
2005 16
2006 8
2007 3
2008 4
2009 3
2010 11
2011 0
Total 92

Team

Individual

Media and personal life

Hall has been the centrepiece of advertising campaigns, including the "Barry Hall Hall" and "Excitement Machine Machine" 2006 television and internet campaign in Sydney by George Patterson Y&R for the Australian Football League which was a finalist at the Australian Interactive Media Industry Association[18] and Melbourne Advertising & Design Club[19] awards and also the "Barry Hall vs Broadford" 2007 advertisement by JWT Melbourne for Ford Australia pitting Barry Hall against his junior club (with cameos from Hall's nephew and aunt).[20]

In 2008 Hall appeared in a series of "Barry Hall Hall" ads; however, these were pulled from the air following the Brent Staker incident.

Hall's personal life has hit the media tabloids on several occasions, with his much publicised relationships with Kylie Stray and bikini model Tahli Greenwood.[21]

Barry Hall married Sophie Raadschelder after dating for about a year in November 2011.[22] They separated in early 2015.[23]

Hall's other interests include gardening and collecting fast cars, including vintage car and drag racing cars.[24]

In 2013, he joined Fox Footy as a boundary rider.

In 2015, Hall appeared in the Australian version of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!. Another contestant on that show was Lauren Brant with whom he developed a relationship. In May 2017 Brant and Hall announced the birth of their son, Miller Hall.[25]

In 2018, Hall was immediately dismissed from radio station Triple M after making on-air remarks which were deemed unacceptable and inappropriate by station management.[26]

Boxing Career
Barry Hall
Statistics
Weight(s)Heavyweight
Height1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)
Reach194 cm (76 in)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights1
Wins0
Wins by KO0
Losses0
Draws1

In the middle of 2019, it was announced that Hall would make his professional boxing debut with the opponent being former rugby league footballer; Paul Gallen. In the lead up to the fight, Hall said of Gallen “I know it’s been painted as a code war, but even the support I’ve been getting off rugby league people has been overwhelming, He’s not a very liked human being … so I’ve got a lot of support".[27]

Professional Boxing Record
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
1 Draw 0–0–1 Paul Gallen MD 6 15 Nov 2019 Margaret Court Arena, Melbourne, Australia
gollark: I can't comment on that until yesterday.
gollark: Tons of organizations do it.
gollark: You need to restrict who has access to classified information.
gollark: They're a common thing!
gollark: The PotatOS Research and Development Foundation.

See also
  • After the siren kicks in Australian rules football

References
  1. "Barry Hall hits the international headlines - World Footy News". worldfootynews.com. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  2. Just a quiet country kid who made good despite the boxing
  3. http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/western-bulldogs-announce-barry-hall-afl-trade-week-deal/story-e6frf9jf-1225783207132
  4. "Barry Hall farewell | AFL Swans Barry Hall". brisbanetimes.com.au. Archived from the original on 4 October 2012. Retrieved 2014-04-04.
  5. Hall leads Dogs to drought-breaking triumph, The Roar, Retrieved on 15 March 2010.
  6. http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,23541216-23211,00.html
  7. https://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/07/16/1026802692219.html
  8. "2006 Report Card: Sydney". Australian Football League. 3 October 2006. Archived from the original on 9 May 2006.
  9. Swans too good for Eagles Archived 13 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  10. Hall out for seven
  11. Barry Hall hits the international headlines
  12. Match review panel: round 14 (part two), 2008 Archived 2 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  13. We had no choice on Hall: Roos Archived 23 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  14. Hall dropped 'indefinitely' Archived 3 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  15. Hall must take responsibility: Kirk Archived 25 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  16. Denham, Greg (25 May 2010). "Lenient panel lets Barry Hall escape with fine". The Australian. Archived from the original on 24 October 2011.
  17. "Barry Hall". AFL Tables.
  18. "AIMIA Home". Archived from the original on 26 January 2007. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  19. http://www.madc.com.au/public_site/img/art/2008%20MADC%20AWARDS%20FINALISTSv3.pdf%5B%5D
  20. "BARRY HALL GETS BACK TO HIS ROOTS FOR FORD - Campaign Brief Australia". campaignbrief.com. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  21. Nikki Tugwell; Holly Byrnes (8 July 2008). "Love-triangle that has Barry Hall biffing". The Daily Telegraph.
  22. Emily Power (20 September 2011). "Big Barry Halls Greatest Match". Herald Sun.
  23. "'We will work it out' Barry Hall's last ditch effort to win back his estranged wife Sophie 15 March 2015". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  24. "Weekly Times Now | Rural News Australia | WeeklyTimesNow". weeklytimesnow.com.au. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  25. "Barry Hall and Lauren Brant welcome baby boy Miller on Gold Coast By Suzanne Simonot 9 May 2017". Gold Coast Bulletin. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  26. http://www.afl.com.au/news/2018-06-29/triple-m-sacks-barry-hall-for-onair-comment
  27. "'He's not a very liked human being': Barry Hall says not even NRL fans will support Paul Gallen". Fox Sports.
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