Big Bad "Boofhead" Barry Hall

[liz]

He did have a pretty ordinary game - but he at least delivered that sublime pass to McVeigh for Macca's third goal. And his effort to emulate his GOTW nomination against the Tiges, only to just miss, was entertaining.

I thought he looked proppy and tentative right from the opening whistle. You could see him hesitate whenever the ball was kicked in his general direction. No doubt that whatever the ailment of the week is, it is hampering him badly.

[Wardy]

but in the second half he got a bit of agro back - I still believe that, niggling injuries aside, he should have decked someone earlier in the season, taken the suspension and his frustration would have been eased somewhat. He is marked constantly, and he is clearly getting really pissed off with that week after week too. Yes its to be expected, but as he isnt on the protected species list, often gets the rough end of the pineapple. But on the positive side - he didn't "offer advice" to the umps like he nomrally would have.
But we have had 5 excellent years out of him (which is more than some other players currently in the side), this year he has lost form due to injuries, which for all we know he may had those injuries for eons, But the clubs medical staff are brilliant at the season long patch up, but like most things temporary, they tend to break down completely after a while. Gotta hope that he gets that match winning Mojo back in the next week or so.

[reigning premier]

The delivery to Hall was shocking last night, particularly in the first half.

Good call. But I don't think he's giving himself much of an oppurtunity either. He had lots of marking oppurtunities where he just coughed up simple chest marks in F50.

[ernie koala]

He is becoming a liability....

At what point does his poor performance start costing us more than he gives??.....

Last years grand final, for example.

[Nico]

Give the man a break, he is just adjusting his brain for his boxing career. His eye sight would want to improve though.

Imagine the after fight interview, " I didn't see that one coming".

[Matt79]

For all his dropped marks last night, he did chase, harass and pressure.

IMO, he still takes at least 2 defenders to the ball with him and frees up space for the likes of McVeigh to kick 3 goals. He is still an important cog in our unit.

I would go as far to say that had he played V WC a few weeks back, we probably would have won.

[ernie koala]

A week off could be just what the doctor and/or the tribunal ,orders..
Though it looked like a mainly shoulder to shoulder hit..??

[Margie]

He marks better when (a) the defender isn't right on him (b) the ball is delivered at chest height, not overhead and (c) during day matches. However, there is no denying that his menacing presence aids the team structure.

I agree with Matt79 that we would have probably won against WC with Barry in the side.

[reigning premier]

But would we be having this conversation if that snap in the last quarter went through??? Or would we be saying goal of the year???

[Xie Shan]

Well, we know he's not 100%, but if he can show a bit of (controlled) aggression and bust a few packs like he tried to do last night, he can still scare opposition defenders. I think he might well miss next week though. We need him to be able to run at full pace so he can come up the ground, so we can at least benefit from his ability to deliver the ball inside 50 like he did so well to McVeigh in the last quarter.

But yeah, I agree, it's really frustrating watching him play these days. We know with his injuries he can't deliver the same output we're used to, so as one of the captains he can't really afford to be giving away undisciplined frees.

At least they're not kicking it to him all the time now...

[ROK Lobster]

Heard an interesting one over a couple of beers on Friday night. Hall has a pretty serious wrist injury and has been playing on injections.

[swantastic]

Heard an interesting one over a couple of beers on Friday night. Hall has a pretty serious wrist injury and has been playing on injections.

Was that at the start of the session or at the end when you couldnt walk? If thats the case maybe he should change hands

[giant]

There was an early encounter when a Buchanan pass missed him - he & Maguire started side by side but Maguire strolled away from him. He's clearly not fit.

OTOH the only thing worse than the passing to Barry last night was the saints' passing to Riewoldt. They were @@@@e last night.

[barry]

From all avaliable evidence Hall has some sort of injury which requires surgery at years end, and can only play 2 (maybe 3) consequtive games at about 70% of normal output.

That raises the question how do we play him over the remaining games of the season:

Rnd 20: brisbane at Gabba
Rnd 21: Collingwood at MCG (win required to knock out top 4 challanger)
Rnd 22: Hawks at SCG (win required to knock out top 4 challanger)
First final: Geelong at the MCG (win required to give us/him a rest)
2nd week of finals: Home game at Telstra
Prelim finals: Home/Away against one of WC/Kangas/Port ?
Grand final: Cats again ?

Ok, so we rest him against Brisbane next week, we also need to rest him for one more game.
Do you do it for the non-elimination 1st final (if top 4), or do we risk him in that a win will give him a week off anyway ?

[annew]

He may get the week off if the MRP look at his hit on Ball and whether it was head high. Incidentally what are his carry over points etc from the incident on Maguire week before GF in 2005?