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Filed under: Afl, Barry Hall, Bulldogs, Sport

14 comments

Big Bad Bazza - Barry Hall - has gone through the wringer and emerged as a new man, ironing out all those kinks. Who would have thought that Bazza could reverse his fortunes after one too many brainsnaps at the Sydney Swans?

Big bad Bazza is back. Picture: Colleen Petch

Bazza - we were waiting for you to trip up again as a ferocious Bulldog. We were waiting for another almighty brainsnap.But it didn’t happen. Instead, Bazza treated us to high-flying marking and a string of match-winning goals. Bazza’s seven-goal haul in the NAB Cup grand final on Saturday night was legendary, elevating him to cult status.

Bulldogs’ fans – celebrate hard. It’s been 40 years since you charged your glasses to toast the Doggies as night premiers.

The Bulldogs have been Melbourne’s battlers of the west for too many decades. And now, the Dogs are one of the most feared units in the AFL.

Bazza’s strength and courage to win the ball in attack has helped the pendulum swing towards the Bulldogs.

Bazza will be one of the AFL’s most targeted players this year. He will put in some shockers but if he continues his top form, Bazza has the ability to swing games.

The premiership dream is now a reality. While we measure success on the field, the Bulldogs have worked hard to reform the club to achieve the right outcomes.

The Bulldogs have formulated their paths to success. And it’s working.

Rodney Eade is an astute coach. He is still hungry. The Bulldogs are chomping at the bit. And the playing group seems quite close-knit, a must for winning consistently.

There will be a core group of four or five top clubs this season that will perform better than the other clubs.

The Bulldogs and St Kilda will be the season’s yardsticks, while the Magpies should be strong and Geelong will be potent, but not as consistent as the past three years.

Consistency is hard to strike when you win a premiership the previous year - it’s dictated by the cyclic nature of professional team sport.

Be prepared for a few surprises when the AFL season kicks off on Thursday, March 25. There will be an avalanche of upsets this year.

And while I think the Bulldogs will have a genuine crack at their first premiership in 56 years, injuries to key position players will often dictate the success of a team.

If the Bulldogs want the cup badly, they will win it. But they have to make sure their willpower, discipline and hunger is as great as any other AFL team.

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430Australia, you have nothing to fear but fear itself

390There's no one Thomson won't burn to save his skin

336Animal experiments won't cure me from cancer

313Thomson didn't answer the question everyone is asking

265Who murdered the Arts degree?

246A big day for Thomson, who thus far is guilty of nothing...

231Craig Thomson speaks. Meanwhile, in Australia...

231South Australia. It's the middle bottom bit.

14 comments

Show oldest | newest first

- acker says:
  
  06:49am | 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..
  
  Reply
- Big Al says:
  
  06:56am | 15/03/10
  
  Bazza has more bark than bite. Bazza is loving footy again. Without footy, he is nothing. Good on the Bulldogs for giving him another life.
  
  Reply
stephen says:

04:35pm | 15/03/10

Don’t agree. Bazza’s smart. He knows what he’s good at, and he’s a winner.
St. Kilda’s cactus, unless Rievoldt can get some guts.
- Adam says:
  
  08:10am | 15/03/10
  
  First this was not a flag. For christ sake it was a practise match. Second every year before round 1 there is always one club who states this is their year. It always ends in tears.
  
  Reply
acker says:

10:42am | 15/03/10

Spoken by by someone who’s team obviously got bundled out in an earlier round or steam-rolled on Saturday night. @Adam = A skidmark on Big Bazzas jock strap post game
Pete the footy fan...almost all codes says:

02:55pm | 15/03/10

come on Adam, let the enjoy it ...it’s a long season and who knows what’s going to happen, but they’re going to be thereabouts by jingo!!!

Ps Go the mighty Bombers
- ben says:
  
  08:11am | 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!
  
  Reply
- James says:
  
  08:19am | 15/03/10
  
  What’s with this barry hall obsession - did anyone actually watch the game, or just read the stats? Hall barely touched the ball until the saints gave up in the last quarter and the game was over. He played no role whatsoever in the victorty but merely kicked a few lollypops in the last quarter after the game was already won (by his teammates). So sure he’s a great player - when it doesn’t count. Big deal.
  
  Reply
Kate says:

05:09pm | 15/03/10

He kicked a goal in the first and for the second and third quarters he had about five defenders on him whenever the Dogs got anywhere near their forward 50 (and the Saints’ defence is not to be sniffed at).
Even if he couldn’t get his hand on the ball, the extra defenders the Saints were flooding him with left others like Higgins and Bob Murphy free to take shots at goal.

Same thing happened in the 90s with North Melbourne - even when Carey only kicked two, you’d find people like Corey McKernan’s goal stats going up because the other team’s defence was so Carey-focused. Just because a big forward may not always impact on the scoreboard doesn’t mean he hasn’t greatly influenced the game.
- Schmavo says:
  
  08:23am | 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
  
  Reply
- McDil says:
  
  08:57am | 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.
  
  Reply
- Jenni says:
  
  11:44am | 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.
  
  Reply
- Bulldog Forever says:
  
  01:51pm | 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!!
  
  Reply
- Cats fan says:
  
  04:04pm | 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.
  
  Reply