With Swans coach Paul Roos all but saying he’d like forward Barry Hall to retire after landing another stray punch, the question is now being asked: how many chances should Hall get before he’s just sacked?

I’d ask another question. Is Barry Hall really as big and bad as he is being made out to be, or is the controversy just an indication of how soft football and sporting culture generally has become in Australia?

In short – and at risk of sounding like Carrie Bradshaw - are Bazza and the likes of Andrew Symonds really too hard or have we just become too soft?

First to Barry. The guy’s behaviour is undoubtedly often pretty thuggish.

He is an ex-boxer who uses his size and ability to punch his opponents hard when he gets frustrated and, evidently, this is too often his first response.

You can see his most famous punch here.

But does being a thug preclude you from being a good player?

It doesn’t make you a great footballer or a smart player, but you can still be a pretty good footballer and Hall is.

The broader question is about the kind of behaviour that Hall is consistently penalised and pulled in front of the tribunal for.

Would it actually have been considered worthy of sacking even 20 years ago?

What about the style of Dermott Brereton’s play at Hawthorn - or more memorably Mark Yates at Geelong who famously king-hit Breteton in the opening seconds of the ‘89 Grand Final.

Without falling into a cliches about how “the game used to be tougher in the old days”, there are players who have a style that is overly aggressive - and while it can be an advantage and detrimental in games - we are wiping out any benefit through over-policing both on and off the field.

Mike Sheahan is the chief AFL writer and associate sport’s editor for the Herald-Sun and told The Punch he didn’t think Hall’s punch on Saturday was worth sacking him over.

“It’s an intriguing question isn’t it? The easy thing to say is “how many chances does this guy get” and chop him mid season. I’m not of that view,” Sheahan told The Punch.

“I’m not sure what the point would be of chopping him mid-season. They still have to pay him and they might still be a chance of making the finals. I’m not sure they should keep him next year though.

“This wasn’t a major incident in itself – it probably happens five to six times a game – but because it was him there’s a fair bit of attention on it.”
Sheahan goes on to make the point that players like Hall are invariably given more chances because of their talent.

“But look we have this same argument with extraordinarily talented people, like Andrew Symonds, get more chances because of the way they play the game, it’s just the case,” Sheahan says.

“They do need to say “look you’re a distraction to the club and the supporters and you will be gone if you do anything like this again this season.” But really what benefit is there in chopping him mid-season.”

During Sunday night’s 60 Minutes profile on dumped test cricketer Andrews Symonds, his best mate made the point that nobody would have batted an eyelid at Symonds behaviour 20 years ago, he would have been thought of as a hard man and a hard drinker.

Sometimes you just can’t separate the nature of the man from his play.

Look at David Boon. From just one generation ago of players ago and is celebrated for having drunk 52 tinnies on a flight to London.

You couldn’t separate the character of David Boon from this kind of behaviour and if you tried to do so he probably wouldn’t have played much cricket for Australia.

The issue is complicated by administrators who are rightly paranoid about players getting too drunk and getting involved in violence or sexual assault: see NRL incident #1482.

The reputation of AFL as a less thuggish sport than league on the field is important as is aims to set up a team in Western Sydney, with AFL boss Andrew Demetriou going to Blacktown for a promotional visit this Friday.

Demetriou will discuss the role of a new Community Advisory Group in setting up the Western Sydney. It sounds smart and kind of more like something Kevin Rudd would announce.

The AFL is also determined to capitalise on its excellent community ground work through Auskick, where thousands of parents have enlisted their kids to play AFL because it’s regarded as free from random acts of head-high violence - as long as the little tackers don’t end up standing Hally.

It just doesn’t seem like there’s much space for Barry Hall and Andrew Symonds in highly professionalised sport.

Which is kind of a shame for the fans, given that when they’re on song, they’re just so good to watch.

8 comments

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    • R says:

      08:03am | 30/06/09

      It isn’t so much as a single incident it is more of a compounding of boneheaded actions over time.

      Honestly, sport is their job and they are remunerated for it. If they are unable to uphold rules (both moralistic and codified) they deserve to pay the price since it is their workplace that they are inherently damaging.

    • CS says:

      11:26am | 30/06/09

      Firstly, there are still hard men of the AFL, who use their physicality to intimidate opponents. AFL is still the hardest of the footy codes in oz.. But the head is sacred. That has been the case for a long while now (mid 1990’s), and more than anything, we have video technology to thank for that. You don’t see Jonathan Brown or Luke Hodge at the tribunal regularly, because they do it within the limits of the laws. In this way, there are still plenty of hits on par with the yates/dermie incident. But not the head.

      Secondly, Barry hall crosses the line, on multiple occassions, every season. Not only does that attract media attention, but leaves you with carry over points at the tribunal and a 50% loading for further offences. He cops his whack, just like lethal and dermie did back in the 80’s. Two weeks was probably lucky given his record.

      Lastly, and most importantly, his form is down, and he is not playing as the influential forward target that he was in 05/06. He is also old, and nearing the end of his career. And he is constantly out serving mutliple match bans. Even when he plays, he costs them badly (see the hawthorn game). If the swans are considering giving him the flick, it’s because his not pulling his weight (relative to his paypacket), and is interested in punching on than concentrating on improving his own game.

    • Matt H says:

      11:56am | 30/06/09

      It’s only a short step from censoring Barry Hall to the Greg Louganis-like activity in Italian football. I’m not condoning Hall’s actions - and there’s no place for the king hit in any sport (except for cage fighting, perhaps). However AFL is a contact sport, where the collision is a genuine tactic. By taking the field you’ve got to accept a bit of push, shove and punch.
      The AFL tends to a be a bit precious about the “melee”. Perhaps the best way of handling it was demonstrated by Rugby League in the State of Origin biffo last week - separate the players, tell them to calm down and get on with the game.
      Imagine if they had outlawed biffo completely? Peter Fitzsimons would never have got his start…

    • iansand says:

      12:29pm | 30/06/09

      It’s footy, ferchrissakes.  Big boofy blokes colliding with each other.

      The AFL’s problem with Hall that he brings a bit of serious biff into the group hugs that you usually see described as fights in the AFL.

    • ANDIKA says:

      01:14pm | 30/06/09

      Sorry Leo, but there is now other way to say this, but yes, we are becoming soft.
      There’s no more enforcer in the game of Rugby League.
      In AFL, a player only has to ‘slap’ his opponent and they’re done for striking. No wonder there are so many parvenu ‘s (French for poser) in football – mean Soccer. Players taking a dive so they can milk a penalty. While TB’s shot on GI in the last State of Origin was a cheap shot, at least the game at that level has some passion.
      I personally think Big Barry was well within his right to punch that player who elbowed him.
      As for Paul Roos suggesting it’s time for Big Barry to move on or retire - I think it’s really lame from Roos – his coach, to express such a thing to the media and the general public. Public hangings are never a good look.

    • Chris says:

      01:35pm | 30/06/09

      Whatever - he is a thug who plays a game for money (lots of money) 

      A thug past his prime and use by date. Let him get in the ring, bask in his own self glory (A la Mundine) and cop a few around the head- let him work it all out after that.

      Swans and AFL - sack him.

    • Davo from St Kilda says:

      01:39pm | 30/06/09

      ‘By taking the field you’ve got to accept a bit of push, shove and punch’, says Matt H. Why should sportsmen (and women) have to accept being assaulted? If one of your workmates punched you in the face, would that be acceptable behaviour? No it wouldn’t. The AFL’s goal to eliminate such cowardly violence has made the sport so much more family-friendly. I go to games and see plenty of women and children. Whenever I stumble upon rugby on TV, all I see (besides empty grandstands) is male spectators…

    • Shano says:

      01:40pm | 02/07/09

      CS - Mate you have to be friggen kidding yourself. Your obviously a one finger typist because your other hand was firmly in your unstitched pocket. AFL play has now been designed to avoid contact, at it’s detriment.(Ask Sam Newman!!) And unfortunately I have to agree with him.
                    It’s about as interesting as soccer the way they pass back and forth to each other and back again I heard the whistle blow so much in a Lions game the other week I thought I was at a gay pride march
      Look at the average build of an AFL player, they’re tiny compared to a League player. They wouldn’t last 40 minutes running up the ball at MOI MOI

 

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