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Hayes enjoying club culture shock
July 11 2003
Chalk one up: former Sydneysider Lenny Hayes leads the league with 379 possessions, an average of 29 per match. Photo: Vince Caligiuri
St Kilda's Lenny Hayes has done well by adding black to his original colours, says Jessica Halloran.
He used to sit in the stands of the SCG, cheer, cheering the red and the white, especially for the likes of the flashy Warwick Capper. Lenny Hayes was Sydney Swans through and through.
But things are different for Hayes these days - he is now loyal to the red, white and black that is St Kilda.
Hayes found it a culture shock when he first arrived in Melbourne a few years ago, especially when he started getting a game regularly.
"It was strange," he says. "There used to be nothing in the papers, AFL-wise, in Sydney, so when I got to Melbourne it really was sort of a shock."
With Hayes's career going so well right now - he is the leading possession-getter in the league with 379, averaging 29 per match - he says he's adapted to the attention, and now enjoys Melbourne's intense football culture.
But would Hayes ever consider coming home to the quieter football life, slipping into the Sydney Swans lifestyle?
"It would be pretty hard to go home, I've got to repay the faith that St Kilda have had in me," he says. "I'm pretty settled down."
Plus it's much cheaper. Consider that Hayes forked out around $350,000 for a house in Melbourne, in comparison to his former St Kilda teammate Swans forward Barry Hall. Hall is believed to have paid about $1 million for a nice abode in Sydney's east.
"Real estate prices are going up in Sydney - it's so expensive," he says.
It's the reason Hayes can identify with the Swans' need for salary cap concessions and allowances - but that sympathy will disappear when he hits the SCG turf tomorrow night.
Hayes will be a danger man against the Swans - he's in the best form of his career so far. But why?
"I'm not too sure, I think it's probably because I have more confidence and self-belief this year," he says. "Also, having Robert Harvey and Stephen Powell from Melbourne playing alongside me, it's good to get a mix in the midfield. We've just been working hard together."
Swans coach Paul Roos notes that despite being ranked 12th on the AFL ladder, St Kilda are a serious threat.
"St Kilda have beaten Brisbane and Adelaide, and that just proves two things - that it's an even competition, and how many good players they have got."
Roos acknowledged that Hayes is a "terrific player", and that he would obviously be marked carefully by the Swans.
Hall, meanwhile, is also having a good season, albeit at times a frustrating one.
He is still finding the going tough in the free-kick column on the stats sheet. So far, he's been awarded just seven this season.
And frustration was evident against West Coast last week, when he managed one lonely goal - there was a bit of wrestling going behind play.
Roos says Hall is doing fine -he has kicked 38 goals for the season and is equal fourth on the goal-kicking table with Brisbane's Alistair Lynch, and when pushed is dealing with it correctly.
"When he is getting a bit frustrated he is handling himself very well," Roos says.
While Hall is making himself a home in Sydney and on the field for the Swans, Hayes will get to savour a little Sin City action tomorrow night.
Hayes sometimes gets home sick, and would rather be in the winter sunshine of the harbour city than the thick chill of Melbourne.
Hayes started kicking the footy around with Pennant Hills when he was eight. He was raised in the north-western suburb of Eastwood, but resisted other sports because of his Victorian father. He played representative under-18 footy for his state, and was picked up for the national draft in 1998 by St Kilda.
His father and family try to get down to Melbourne once a month to watch him play. But Hayes says it's hard tell if he will ever come back to Sydney.
"I would like to go back because of family and friends," Hayes says. "But I'll see how my footy goes."
Hayes enjoying club culture shock
___________
"I would like to go back because of family and friends," Hayes says. "But I'll see how my footy goes."
...there is hope yet!
July 11 2003
Chalk one up: former Sydneysider Lenny Hayes leads the league with 379 possessions, an average of 29 per match. Photo: Vince Caligiuri
St Kilda's Lenny Hayes has done well by adding black to his original colours, says Jessica Halloran.
He used to sit in the stands of the SCG, cheer, cheering the red and the white, especially for the likes of the flashy Warwick Capper. Lenny Hayes was Sydney Swans through and through.
But things are different for Hayes these days - he is now loyal to the red, white and black that is St Kilda.
Hayes found it a culture shock when he first arrived in Melbourne a few years ago, especially when he started getting a game regularly.
"It was strange," he says. "There used to be nothing in the papers, AFL-wise, in Sydney, so when I got to Melbourne it really was sort of a shock."
With Hayes's career going so well right now - he is the leading possession-getter in the league with 379, averaging 29 per match - he says he's adapted to the attention, and now enjoys Melbourne's intense football culture.
But would Hayes ever consider coming home to the quieter football life, slipping into the Sydney Swans lifestyle?
"It would be pretty hard to go home, I've got to repay the faith that St Kilda have had in me," he says. "I'm pretty settled down."
Plus it's much cheaper. Consider that Hayes forked out around $350,000 for a house in Melbourne, in comparison to his former St Kilda teammate Swans forward Barry Hall. Hall is believed to have paid about $1 million for a nice abode in Sydney's east.
"Real estate prices are going up in Sydney - it's so expensive," he says.
It's the reason Hayes can identify with the Swans' need for salary cap concessions and allowances - but that sympathy will disappear when he hits the SCG turf tomorrow night.
Hayes will be a danger man against the Swans - he's in the best form of his career so far. But why?
"I'm not too sure, I think it's probably because I have more confidence and self-belief this year," he says. "Also, having Robert Harvey and Stephen Powell from Melbourne playing alongside me, it's good to get a mix in the midfield. We've just been working hard together."
Swans coach Paul Roos notes that despite being ranked 12th on the AFL ladder, St Kilda are a serious threat.
"St Kilda have beaten Brisbane and Adelaide, and that just proves two things - that it's an even competition, and how many good players they have got."
Roos acknowledged that Hayes is a "terrific player", and that he would obviously be marked carefully by the Swans.
Hall, meanwhile, is also having a good season, albeit at times a frustrating one.
He is still finding the going tough in the free-kick column on the stats sheet. So far, he's been awarded just seven this season.
And frustration was evident against West Coast last week, when he managed one lonely goal - there was a bit of wrestling going behind play.
Roos says Hall is doing fine -he has kicked 38 goals for the season and is equal fourth on the goal-kicking table with Brisbane's Alistair Lynch, and when pushed is dealing with it correctly.
"When he is getting a bit frustrated he is handling himself very well," Roos says.
While Hall is making himself a home in Sydney and on the field for the Swans, Hayes will get to savour a little Sin City action tomorrow night.
Hayes sometimes gets home sick, and would rather be in the winter sunshine of the harbour city than the thick chill of Melbourne.
Hayes started kicking the footy around with Pennant Hills when he was eight. He was raised in the north-western suburb of Eastwood, but resisted other sports because of his Victorian father. He played representative under-18 footy for his state, and was picked up for the national draft in 1998 by St Kilda.
His father and family try to get down to Melbourne once a month to watch him play. But Hayes says it's hard tell if he will ever come back to Sydney.
"I would like to go back because of family and friends," Hayes says. "But I'll see how my footy goes."
Hayes enjoying club culture shock
___________
"I would like to go back because of family and friends," Hayes says. "But I'll see how my footy goes."
...there is hope yet!
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