drop hall

[The Boot]

... I at a loss to explain why he isn't doing this...should have started it weeks ago. I think he must be carrying some sort of injury, it's all I can think of.

Yes, he's carrying a large promissary note to the value of ten million from a local fight promoter - it's weighing on his mind terribly, poor bastard.

[cruiser]

Except that I fell asleep at the start of the fourth quarter...

[barry]

I'd rather they drop Bevan instead of Hall. Bevan is useless.

Bevan had a cracker game. He gets to contests that most people couldnt. I can see why Roos likes him so much when seeing him live. He aint no superstar but not in the bottom 10 players.

Hall should be dropped. He's been ordinary for weeks now, and even though we were never going to win last night, his efforts cost us plenty of goals on the rebound. I'd bring in Doyle and restructure the forward line, with a Doyle/Everitt combo up at FF.

[humphrey bear]

You people with the exception of Liz are very stupid people.

Halls work ethic was outstanding and in the 3rd 1/4 alone he got his hands to 6 or 7 marks that he would normally have taken. He is close and is attitude and work ethic is still there.

Even last night Hall had 2000% more impact than Grundy. He wasnt at his best or at a level that people expect him to be at but he had more positive impact than several Swans players.

On top of that he was the Swans leading Scorer on the ground.

[Melbournehammer]

I am amazed that anyone is suggesting that hall should be dropped - he has been double or triple teamed every week. It is the inability of our other forwards - in particular o'keefe and o loughlin to win their positions and buchanan and schneider to find and lock and up the ball that is the problem.

the other problem and it is one that needs fixing is to encourage ablett and dempster and malceski to shoot from 50 so that instead of having 10 collingwood, or essen don or north or adelaide etc players in the forward 50 sweating on the pass they know that someone might actually shoot over them

[ROK Lobster]

I think that his shocker in last year's grand final really knocked his confidence around. As was mentioned last night on the ABC radio broadcast he became almost reclusive after that. His confidence is down, he is only training once a week so his fitness is down. The rule changes have unsettled him. He is just having a @@@@ season all round. He will not, and should not be dropped. But the ball should go to other forwards more often. I did not see the game last night so do not know if he was continually the main target, but in weeks past, this has been a major part of the problem with the team, and also for Hall. If we had a few midfielders who could (a) notice options and make a decision in a matter of moments and (b) execute it with some semblance of accuracy, Hall may stand a chance (notwithstanding the grounding of chest marks in recent weeks).

[TheMase]

This is not even about Hall really. Yes he is out of form, we get that. We know that, and we know what will happen most of the time, the ball will hit the deck.

Okay, so where are the players WAITING for that to happen? We can easily turn a negative into a positive here, but we don't ... WHY?

If we have players ourselves that wait for the loose ball off the Hall spoil, we will be creating a lot more opportunities.

[Swannette]

What I don't understand is why dopey midfielders like Mathews and Jude and McVeigh take up precious space in the forward line when the ball is outside fifty and our FORWARDS need the room to run into. And these midgets actually make leads sometimes. It seems ludicrus to me. If their opponent goes in, why should they, its our 50?? If there is a logical reason why they need to be there (to be an accidental crumber is not the same as a strategic crumber and #4 is not one of those, so that answer is not going to cut it), please can someone enlighten me?

[JF_Bay22_SCG]

Put him in the back line in the reserves and see how hard it is to get into the seniors.

I'd try him in the ruck first. If he doesn't get a feel for the ball there, then Canberra is really the only option.

Still, the way ball was spuriously bombed into him (often when he had 2 men on him or was in bad position), there was little hope for him to do much with it.

But if you were a midfielder and knew you had him to kick to, would you do it if you knew that 75% of times even easy marks at chest to head height are being dropped.

JF

[ROK Lobster]

For all those who think he should be dropped, why? What good would a week or two in Canberra do him

[giant]

His confidence is shot. It's not just the missed marks - it's missed sitters, missed tackles, silly free kicks, mistimed leads - the entire canon of the frustrated full forward.

Personally, I have no idea what they can do with him - playing in the ressies hardly seems the right idea but they can't keep him as our focal point in attack. That trick just ain't working atm.

[Margie]

The "bustling" part is still there and his work ethic. It's Baz's timing and confidence that are off and, like many of here have said, he doesn't play as well on dewy nights.

Putting him in the 2's would serve no useful purpose.

[goswannie14]

Dropping Hall is a stupid idea, it is the mid-fielders that need replacing. Yes his confidence is down, but he still works harder than a few of those mid-fielders combined.

BTW, to those referring to Bazza as a FF, when was the last time he was picked there or played there? I thought he was a CHF, and we need him and need him firing. Dropping him would do nothing to address the lack of confidence.

[Glenn]

For all those who think he should be dropped, why? What good would a week or two in Canberra do him

Not saying he should go to the ACTAFL, more a couple of weeks away from the game, and a chance for the niggling injuries to ease.

[NMWBloods]

One of the big problems with Hall's game that has always been there is his inability to regularly mark in his hands. This takes away a significant weapon in the normal arsenal of power forwards.

In the past he has been able to get around that by pushing off his opponent. He can't do that now.

The other options was for the team to have a good forward structure so he could lead to the ball and mark on his chest. That is now gone too as Hall is frequently double or triple teamed and our players are unable to spot up a leading forward.

The only option I can see now is for him to play the true CHF role, a la Riewoldt; viz start at CHF on the F50 and play well up the ground, leading into space to mark on his chest about 70-90m out from goal. He would no longer be the focus for kicking goals. Instead, in the forward line we would play it more open and rely on a mix of MOL, Davis, the ruckmen, ROK, Grundy, Vogels, and some small forwards or midfielders. It has worked pretty well for other sides over time (such as the Bulldogs in recent years and even Adelaide in 97-98).