In defense of Hall

[Yuri H]

Mitchell was behaving like a little goblin

Ha! I love this phrase. I'm stealing it for all further convo with co-workers about this.

[Hartijon]

Mitchell's behaviour was disgraceful, certainly never deserves to be a leader in any team let alone a premiership one.Totally immature and on hindsight he should be ashamed but won't be!. What still shocks me is the umpire blatantly allowing the charade to continue and standing back watching Barry and ready to blow the whistle and comply with the playacting ,"force Barry to react" charade.Their behaviour warrants investigation for bringing the game into disrepute. Kindergarden stuff all round and all stems from a non event of Hall telling the umpire his arm was held.The two mature people were Goodes and Kirk..well done boys! Where were the rest of the "leadership team" ? Why were they not stopping the Goblin as he deserves to be called now play acting? Where was the support for the team mate...Well done Goodes,Kirk the rest weak. Barry Hall? hard done by but a product of his history..It's called KARMA where I live.

[Agent 86]

Exactly. What about Sam Mitchell having a go at the umpire incessantly and the umpire telling him to settle down. Why didn't Barry get told to settle down as well?

'cos the crowd will cheer the umpies when Baz gets pinged for the 50s and they will boo if it goes the other way. It's the advantage of the home crowd and the fact that the maggots think they're part of the entertainment.

[connolly]

'cos the crowd will cheer the umpies when Baz gets pinged for the 50s and they will boo if it goes the other way. It's the advantage of the home crowd and the fact that the maggots think they're part of the entertainment.

Hard to stop clowns becoming part of the circus. Apparently incitement and provocation is not part of the Demetriou rule book.

[johnno]

This may seem like a silly comment that i am about to make, but after watching what unfolded during the game, and rushing home to watch it on T.V. afterwards, I have finally admitted defeat and conceded that Barry Hall will never be umpired the same way most players in the league are. Have sort of known it for a few years now, but always held out hope that it wasn't true. But after witnessing that on Sunday, that's it, can't hold out hope anymore. From now on, I will watch every game with the knowledge of not expecting any free kicks to come Barry's way in the future.

[dimelb]

Mitchell's behaviour was disgraceful, certainly never deserves to be a leader in any team let alone a premiership one.Totally immature and on hindsight he should be ashamed but won't be! ... The two mature people were Goodes and Kirk..well done boys! Where were the rest of the "leadership team" ? Why were they not stopping the Goblin as he deserves to be called now play acting? ...

Someone - I think Jude - eventually pulled him away.

[Triple B]

Someone - I think Jude - eventually pulled him away.

It was Bulldog.

[Hartijon]

It was Bulldog.

Well done Bulldog! Times like that the leaders have to stand up!

[Hartijon]

Final comment on this sad affair: We must have a plan! Barry is now a serial flip out! We know this,he can't help it or control it and it will happen again.So get used to it and have a plan.
1.The moment it happens surround him with swans players so no one can get near him. Protect him and the team from further damage
2.Never let him be on his own taking a 50 metre penalty.Fellow forwards flock in ,maybe take it for him.
3.Have the captains ask the umpires politely for their reasons for pinging him..also distracts them!

Plan for the next explosion and have everybody knowing what to do....

[Mel_C]

In the game day thread , along with many on the forum,I blasted Hall. I was angry as I have ever been in footy. BUT....I was listening on radio and went by the commentators and the posts here.
Having finally seen it all on YouTube I have completely reversed my opinion.
For sure, the original incident was just typical of the crap BBB cops...the second 50 should in fact have been reversed if anything. What an overact from the Hawthorn player who clearly initiated the contact.

Now I am angry again for all the opposite reasons!

I had the exact same reaction. At the game I was really angry with him. I didn't see the 2nd and 3rd incidents because all the Hawthorn supporters were standing up cheering and yelling out he was going to get 10 weeks. So I assumed from those comments that he had hit someone again.

But then I saw the footage and it was a total over reaction by the umpires.
1. The 1st 50 was technically there as Hall has said...although soft.
2. The 2nd 50 was caused by Roughhead bumping into him from behind and then him falling down like a marshmellow when Hall retaliated. Which is fair enough for roughhead to do but the umpires shouldn't fall for it.
3. The 3rd 50 was caused by the little twerp Mitchell. I have seen him a number of times during other matches do this. And by the way I have noticed that when his team is behind he rarely plays well and seems disinterested. (Unlike our captain ).

On the radio this morning the talkback seemed to be in favour of Hall which is generally rarely the case.

[johnno]

Just to go on about the 2nd 50 that was paid for Hall knocking over Roughhead, the unfortunate thing is that Barry will never ever fall over when being bumped like that to milk a free kick out of the umps, its not in his demeanor, he would rather take the hit and make sure the other fellow is the one who goes down, not himself. It really doesn't make a difference though, even if he did go down(to milk a free kick), the umps would never ever give him one.

[Plugger46]

I wasn't too happy with him at the game but I think he was pretty stiff after watching the replay. He probably should've been having a shot at goal, when Cambell held onto him.

Over umpired and there's no way any other player in the competition would have been treated the same way.

[Mr Magoo]

Firstly there are so many laws and rules that the umpires will rarely be wrong on these matters BUT there is little doubt that Hall is treated differently to other players and is rarely awarded free kicks. While I dont agree with players whinging about frees as it rarely achieves anything, I can understand getting frustrated when you are busting a gut on the field and you see your oppossing players getting away with blue murder while you get pinged every time you step out of line.

I dont know if the swans coaches feel the same way but it is getting to the stage where if I was Roos I would consider foregoing the fine just to publicly state this and to support Hall.

[dimelb]

Just to go on about the 2nd 50 that was paid for Hall knocking over Roughhead, the unfortunate thing is that Barry will never ever fall over when being bumped like that to milk a free kick out of the umps, its not in his demeanor, he would rather take the hit and make sure the other fellow is the one who goes down, not himself. It really doesn't make a difference though, even if he did go down(to milk a free kick), the umps would never ever give him one.

I've wondered about this. The umps do it for Fevola, who at the slightest touch in the back throws his arms around and stumbles spectacularly. Judd and Lloyd do the same, but they are different cases (umps' pets). But if for Fev, why not for Hall? I think it's a product of the new rules; you saw it happen before, but it seems to have become a more frequent part of the game.

[goswannie14]

I dont know if the swans coaches feel the same way but it is getting to the stage where if I was Roos I would consider foregoing the fine just to publicly state this and to support Hall.

If he had any balls he would have done this a couple of years ago.