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Why Big Bad Barry is tiptoeing on eggshells
By Jessica Halloran
July 24 2003
Sydney forward Barry Hall is not getting a fair go, according to Swans coach Paul Roos.
Roos's comments come in the wake of Hall's exoneration on a headbutting charge at the tribunal this week.
Roos, who admitted he was surprised when Hall was reported, said: "Unfortunately for Barry, he gets judged differently to 99 per cent of players in AFL.
"That's just a reality we have to face now. We've got to face that as a club, face that as a player. Unfortunately there's just a stigma attached to being Barry Hall."
Hall appeared at the tribunal on Tuesday for allegedly headbutting Carlton's Simon Beaumont during last Saturday's match, but was found not guilty.
"I was extremely surprised it went as far as it did," Roos said.
Roos said Hall will have to continue walking on "eggshells" and has contacted the umpires' coach Rowan Sawers to follow up a conversation he had with him in May, which also concerned the treatment of the forward.
Back then the Swans coach forwarded a video compilation of Hall's treatment by the umpires to AFL umpiring director Jeff Gieschen and Sawers, seeking to clarify why Hall had not been awarded a free kick in the preceding two rounds.
"I spoke to Rowan Sawers again on Monday, and just briefly because he didn't want to talk to me, and I'm waiting to hear back from him again," Roos said. "I'd certainly like to talk to them. I just wanted to make a quick statement to him more than anything else. He was fine. He said he'd give me a call back later on in the week. It's a real concern for me as a coach, and as a club. I'm certainly thankful [Hall] didn't get suspended. But it's a certainly a concern."
Roos said Hall is a central cog in the team, that his behaviour so far this year had been "terrific", but he also said Hall is "not an angel".
"All I can gather based on my 20 years in football is that when I look at some of the other instances that happened on the weekend and I look at what happened with Barry Hall, I am little bit confused as to why Barry was treated the way he was and some other players were treated the way they were," Roos said.
"We've got to come to terms, unless things change, as a club and as a player that the little things that the others guys get away with he's not going to get away with. He's going to have to walk on eggshells."
Ryan O'Keefe (calf) will not be available for Sunday's match against Fremantle.
There is also uncertainty surrounding the availability of captain Stuart Maxfield, who has not played in Sydney's past two matches because of "soreness" in his right knee.
Port Adelaide forward Peter Burgoyne, meanwhile, has been suspended for three games for unduly rough play and will miss the competition leaders' matches against premiers Brisbane, Hawthorn and Carlton, reports AAP.
By Jessica Halloran
July 24 2003
Sydney forward Barry Hall is not getting a fair go, according to Swans coach Paul Roos.
Roos's comments come in the wake of Hall's exoneration on a headbutting charge at the tribunal this week.
Roos, who admitted he was surprised when Hall was reported, said: "Unfortunately for Barry, he gets judged differently to 99 per cent of players in AFL.
"That's just a reality we have to face now. We've got to face that as a club, face that as a player. Unfortunately there's just a stigma attached to being Barry Hall."
Hall appeared at the tribunal on Tuesday for allegedly headbutting Carlton's Simon Beaumont during last Saturday's match, but was found not guilty.
"I was extremely surprised it went as far as it did," Roos said.
Roos said Hall will have to continue walking on "eggshells" and has contacted the umpires' coach Rowan Sawers to follow up a conversation he had with him in May, which also concerned the treatment of the forward.
Back then the Swans coach forwarded a video compilation of Hall's treatment by the umpires to AFL umpiring director Jeff Gieschen and Sawers, seeking to clarify why Hall had not been awarded a free kick in the preceding two rounds.
"I spoke to Rowan Sawers again on Monday, and just briefly because he didn't want to talk to me, and I'm waiting to hear back from him again," Roos said. "I'd certainly like to talk to them. I just wanted to make a quick statement to him more than anything else. He was fine. He said he'd give me a call back later on in the week. It's a real concern for me as a coach, and as a club. I'm certainly thankful [Hall] didn't get suspended. But it's a certainly a concern."
Roos said Hall is a central cog in the team, that his behaviour so far this year had been "terrific", but he also said Hall is "not an angel".
"All I can gather based on my 20 years in football is that when I look at some of the other instances that happened on the weekend and I look at what happened with Barry Hall, I am little bit confused as to why Barry was treated the way he was and some other players were treated the way they were," Roos said.
"We've got to come to terms, unless things change, as a club and as a player that the little things that the others guys get away with he's not going to get away with. He's going to have to walk on eggshells."
Ryan O'Keefe (calf) will not be available for Sunday's match against Fremantle.
There is also uncertainty surrounding the availability of captain Stuart Maxfield, who has not played in Sydney's past two matches because of "soreness" in his right knee.
Port Adelaide forward Peter Burgoyne, meanwhile, has been suspended for three games for unduly rough play and will miss the competition leaders' matches against premiers Brisbane, Hawthorn and Carlton, reports AAP.
