Josh Hall (footballer)

Josh Hall (born 3 April 1990) is a professional rugby league footballer and former Australian rules footballer who currently plays for the Townsville Blackhawks in the Queensland Cup[2] and formerly for the Penrith Panthers in the National Rugby League.

Josh Hall

Personal information
Full name	Joshua Hall
Born	(1990-04-03) 3 April 1990 Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Height	197 cm (6 ft 6 in)
Weight	92 kg (14 st 7 lb)
Playing information
Position	Wing
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 2016 Penrith Panthers 0 0 0 0 0
Australian rules football
Position	Ruckman, Backman
Club Years Team Pld G 2012–15 Gold Coast 7 3
As of 2015 Source: [1]

Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Australia
World Youth Championships
	2007 Ostrava	High jump

Early life

Hall was born and raised in Townsville, Queensland.[3] He played junior rugby league in his younger years, playing the positions of fullback and centre.[4] He supported the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League throughout his schooling years at William Ross State High School.[5] As a teenager, Hall decided to focus on High jump with the dream of one day representing Australia at the Olympics.[6]

High jump career

Hall won the bronze medal at the 2007 World Youth Championships in Athletics. He jumped a personal best of 2.26m nine times in 2010 which cleared the B qualifying height for the 2010 Commonwealth Games. However, he was overlooked for the 2010 Australian Commonwealth Games team and decided to take a break from high jump.[7] Later in 2010 he attended training at the Townsvile City Lions AFC as a part of practical work in his sports science degree at James Cook University. Despite only being required to run water initially, the trip would result in Hall playing Australian rules football for the first time at 20 years of age. The following year saw Hall sign up to play senior football for the Curra Swans in the AFL Townsville competition.

After just four games of senior football for Curra, Hall attracted the attention of a Gold Coast Suns Academy scout.[8] Although not officially a part of the team, Hall was invited to play football for the Gold Coast Suns reserves team in 2011 and showed lots of promise as a ruckman. He also fell 2 centimeters shy of qualifying for the High Jump in the 2012 London Olympics.

AFL career

Hall was drafted with the 94th pick in the 2012 AFL rookie draft by the Gold Coast Suns. After weeks of solid form in the NEAFL, he was selected to play for the Suns senior team for their clash with the Richmond Tigers in Cairns. In his AFL debut he kicked two goals in a two-point victory over Richmond.[9] Hall managed seven senior AFL games over his four-year AFL career before being delisted on 8 September 2015.[10] In a radio interview conducted on 14 September 2015, Hall stated he wanted a contract extension with the Gold Coast and only explored his options after he was made aware that he would not be re-signed.[11]

Statistics

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
2012	Gold Coast	46	2	2	1	5	3	8	4	0	1.00	0.50	2.50	1.50	4.00	2.00	0.00
2013	Gold Coast	46	3	1	1	14	11	25	10	5	0.33	0.33	4.67	3.67	8.33	3.33	1.67
2014	Gold Coast	46	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
2015	Gold Coast	46	2	0	0	6	3	9	1	10	0.00	0.00	3.00	1.50	4.50	0.50	5.00
AFL Career			7	3	2	25	17	42	15	15	0.43	0.29	3.57	2.43	6.00	2.14	2.14

NRL career

See also: List of players who have converted from one football code to another

In May 2015, it was revealed that Hall met with Gold Coast Titans coach Neil Henry at Gold Coast Airport to discuss a potential switch of codes but was informed he would need to prove himself in the Queensland Cup before an NRL contract would be offered.[12] Hall flew to Sydney in August 2015 to meet with Penrith Panthers General Manager Phil Gould where the two discussed switching codes. On 8 September 2015, Hall was signed by the Penrith Panthers on a two-year-deal.[13] Josh played for Penrith's Intrust Super Premiership Team, which is one step below the NRL squad. He was released at the end of Season 2016.

In 2017, Hall signed with the Townsville Blackhawks upon returning to his hometown.

Statistics

Season	Team	Games	Tries	Goals	F/G	Points
2016	Penrith Panthers (NSW Cup)	20	11	54	–	152
Total		20	11	54	–	152

References

1. AFL - Footy Wire
2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 1 March 2017. Retrieved 16 February 2017.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
3. "Panthers snare code-hopper Hall". Penrith Panthers. 8 September 2015. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
4. Boswell, Tom (8 September 2015). "Suns player Josh Hall signs two-year deal with Penrith Panthers". Gold Coast Bulletin. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
5. "Former Gold Coast Sun Josh Hall signs two-year deal with Penrith". Townsville Bulletin. 8 September 2015. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
6. Stewart, Anthony (5 September 2011). "High Jump Star Hall Heads To AFL". Fox Sports. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
7. "AFL debut a huge leap for ex high-jumper". GoldCoast. 12 July 2012. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
8. Stewart, Anthony (27 May 2011). "AFL Jumps At Josh Hall". Fox Sports. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
9. "Hunt's post-siren goal gives Suns AFL win". Brisbane Times. 14 July 2012. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
10. "Suns delist four to continue clean-out". AFL.com. 8 September 2015. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
11. "On The Air: Josh Hall". Penrith Panthers. 14 September 2015. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
12. Balym, Todd (14 May 2011). "Josh Hall takes steps to make switch from AFL to rugby league via Gold Coast Titans". Courier Mail. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
13. Webster, Andrew (8 September 2015). "Penrith Panthers boss Phil Gould poaches Josh Hall from Gold Coast Suns". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 8 September 2015.

External links

• Penrith Panthers squad
• Josh Hall's profile on the official website of the Gold Coast Football Club
• Josh Hall's playing statistics from AFL Tables