Someone let the Dogs out

acker says:

07:49am | 15/03/10

1954 > 2010..It was 56 years ago today, Charlie Sutton told the boys to play, they’d been going in and out of style, but guaranteed to raise a smile, Footscray Football Clubs 1954 Premeirship team…did we need anybody, we just needed Bazza at Full Forward, could it have been anybody no theey needed to be 194 cm tall…..continued barking to the Sgt Peppers tune then a rousing sing along to the Beatles “Hey Bulldog” after ..bring it on woof..

ben says:

09:11am | 15/03/10

Yep, it’s great to see Hall flourishing at a football club, but jeez, you just get the feeling the AFL sports writers have a few headlines in reserve for big bad bustling Barry. It’s a shame to say, but I think at some point this year there will be a press conference where the words ‘I’ve let myself and the football club down’, and, ‘I have an issue with anger and I need to work on that’ are uttered with much perceived remorse. Good luck though Barry!

Schmavo says:

09:23am | 15/03/10

Alas, it’ll be the Tigers’ year agin…...or NOT…..amazing what difference a class act like Barry Hall can make to an entire team

McDil says:

09:57am | 15/03/10

Was at the game and Baz didn’t win it for them. The game was basically over when Hall stepped up and kicked some margin-inflating goals. He kicked 5 in the last quarter when the Saints realised the game was over and it wasn’t worth going in hard and hurting themselves before the real stuff kicks off. For most of the game he was missing. It was his team-mates like Cooney, Minson, Hahn, Giansiracusa who set it up for the Bullies with true 4-quarter efforts. Focussing on Hall does a grand disservice to the rest of the team.

Jenni says:

12:44pm | 15/03/10

Call me a cynic (or worse, I’m tough, I can handle it but I think it’s only a matter of time before Barry loses it again and repeats the same appalling behaviour that saw him booted from Sydney.

If you worked in an office (or a bank, or a store, etc) and had a colleague who was a great team-player, did his work well and generally got along with most people BUT every couple of months lost his temper and started punching people, how long do you think he would keep his job? Why is sport any different?

Personally I think with those few individuals who repeatedly behave outside the rules and spirit of the game need to be dealt with not just from their own club, but from the AFL as a whole. We saw this happen when Ben Cousins was banned from the game itself for his indiscretions, there comes a point where thugs like Hall need to be dealt with in the same way.

For the record, I am a Sydney Swans supporter, and anyone who knows me will tell you I have held this opinion for many years, including while he was at our club, so it’s not “sour grapes” that we don’t have him anymore. I was never a fan of his when he played for us, and I don’t think he has changed at all.

Bulldog Forever says:

02:51pm | 15/03/10

McDil and James, obviously you where looking in a different direction when Hall kicked the first two goals of the game and set up the third with a crunch on Gwilt and was instrumental in giving the Bulldogs a 4 goal break at quarter time, a lead they never relinquished.

And again when the Saints pressed in the third term it was Hall presence that allowed space and time for the dogs to respond and etch out a 3 goal lead, and guess what, in the final term when Riewoldt kicked the first and made it a 10 point game, guess who bobbed and kicked the next, that’s right B.Hall and with the margin 28 points with still time for the Saints, B. Hall pulled down a pack mark from an errant Everitt kick and banged it through from 40 to seal the win.

So with 12 possessions, 11 of which directly resulted in a score, 7 goals (4 at critical times) I would suggest very strongly that he was the difference and deserved the Tuck.

The facts are simple and the media writers can smell it, and the dogs fans know it, the Dogs are close to a flag and are in the best position to win one since ‘61 and the difference is Hall, 17 goals in three games, 31 possessions and 28 scoring shots are the stats that matter and I am one Bulldog who cannot wait for Round 1…

Go You Doggies!!

Cats fan says:

05:04pm | 15/03/10

There’s just no way that the Bulldogs can win the granny. Geelong are too strong. St Kilda are usually better. Everyone will be all over Hall now and he won’t be as good. They will block him and put huge guys on him. He will get injured. He will cop it.