Yes, I Had A Shocker. Now, Can We All Move On?

Sun Herald

Sunday February 4, 2007

Daniel Lane

Swans ace Barry Hall won't dwell on the past as he ramps up for the new season, Daniel Lane writes.

BEFORE he started pre-season training with the Sydney Swans, Barry Hall dug out a file overflowing with newspaper clippings on the 2006 grand final and forced himself to read every miserable word about a game he'd pay to forget.

It wasn't a lesson in humility, or an exercise to stoke the fire in his belly. Hall needed to move on before the Swans' 2007 campaign began. Finishing each sentence was like stabbing himself in the eye.

"I was disappointed with just about everything that was written about me," he says. "It hurt, of course it hurt. I'm not going to carry on about a lot of that stuff, but I will say I have a long memory."

Hall can't bring himself to watch a replay of the Swans' one-point loss to the West Coast Eagles. It's likely he never will. Any vision of it in a television sports report was enough for him to hammer his remote control's off button violently.

Hall had vowed to never talk about his effort in the grand final last year but decided to clear the air this one - and only - time. His eyes said "bring it on" but he folded his arms in a defensive manner when the subject was broached.

"I couldn't have had a better preparation going into the game," he says. "I felt as if I was in good form and I was excited about playing in the grand final.

"But once the game got under way, things didn't go right. Nothing I tried to do to change [my game] worked for me. I know I should have - and could have - played better. I know that, but don't think I didn't try to do everything in my power to change the way I was going out there.

"It's not as if any player goes out to play badly. I put the effort in, I really did. It was just a bad day.

"It wasn't a mental thing or anything like that. Tell me who hasn't had a bad day at work? I'm not the first player to have a bad game, and I won't be the last.

"What really disappointed me was the level of criticism. It taught me a valuable lesson.

"Because of what the critics and media said about me, I won't ever comment on a player's individual performance again; we're at a stage now where everything is becoming super critical. As a captain, I'll only talk about the team's collective form. If the team is playing badly, I'll say the team is playing badly, but I won't pinpoint individuals."

The grand final experience emphasised how Hall is viewed by the Sydney media and the public. If Tony Lockett was the face of the Swans a few years ago, Hall is now the heart and soul, a suggestion he handballed like a hot potato.

"We have quality players on our list, but we're a quality team," he says. "I think it's disrespectful to the team to suggest one bloke is this and that.

"We're in it together and as grand final goes, while I wasn't happy with the way I played, I was proud of the way the blokes fought back to come within a point of winning.

"Yeah, we didn't win. But as a team I'm sure we gained respect. Respect was something we wanted as a team about four years ago because we figured the perception in the league was we weren't respected.

"We were beaten, but we didn't give up. Nobody did."

Hall described facing the Swans supporters at an SCG function the day after his nightmare as one of the toughest challenges he had faced as a professional footballer. People who attended the red and white "wake" said Hall looked all the well-wishers squarely in the eye and thanked them for their support, but it was a genuine test of his mettle.

"That was hard to take, too," he says. "Hard, mate, because they'd been let down, a bit.

"They're the most passionate fans and the loss hit them just as hard as it did the players. And we had to face them.

"I read somewhere that I left Sydney to escape after the grand final but that wasn't true. I was here."

It's five months since the Swans' grand final defeat and while Hall's MCG wounds remain open, his body is primed to rip and tear. He has followed a gruelling training regimen over summer, and his diet has consisted of discipline and sacrifice. He has stripped back to 100 kilograms.

Swans head trainer David Misson says Hall's skin folds are the lowest they've been - not that they were ever a problem - and his fitness is far superior to this time last year.

Hall is also conscious that as he is one of the club's leaders, the younger players are watching to see how he bounces back from the tearful finale to 2006. His intention was to teach them it matters not how a man gets knocked to the ground, but whether he climbs back up.

"I wasn't motivated by the need to prove the critics wrong," he says. "No. I realised that unless I did things differently I wouldn't improve from last season. I used to think I'd go to the extreme at training, but I've gone an extra level. I do all the little things right. I've watched everything I've put in my mouth and, in terms of fitness, this is the best I've returned from an off-season.

"Normally, during the break, I do all the things I can't in the season. Not this time. I've been strict."

Hall attends two yoga sessions a week to gain what he described as much-needed flexibility. "I'm not flexible, I struggle to touch my toes," he says. "I've been old-fashioned in my outlook on things like stretching and I realise now that's wrong.

"I have to improve in that area if I want to play for another three years. I'm 30 soon and it's not going to get any easier."

Misson said Hall set high standards for both himself and his teammates. He has noticed a change in the veteran's preparation.

"Barry is old school and that can be a good and bad thing because he never complains about injuries and he trains or plays when others might not," he says.

"The flip side is that Barry probably hasn't done as much physio or recovery in the past as he probably should have.

"But as he's getting older he is doing the 'one per center' things that make a difference, such as flexibility and stability work. The younger guys are taking note."

The younger guys. Hall has so much to teach and one lesson he intended to drum into them was to take nothing for granted.

"When you start out as a rookie you think playing footy will last forever," he says.

"The time goes too quickly. I've been at two clubs - St Kilda and the Swans - and of all the guys I started out with, there'd only be four guys still running around.

"I almost became a statistic myself. I read in the paper [in 1999] that I was going to be delisted by St Kilda. However, a new coach came in - Tim Watson - and said he thought I could play but he was only going to give me a year to make it.

"Things snowballed for me, thankfully, and I'm still here."

And tougher, no doubt, for his latest experience.

LOOKING AT LIFE WHEN THE GAME'S UP

BARRY Hall is following his own advice and planning for the future. Although he's certain to be offered everything from roles in the media to joining company boards when he hangs up the boots, personal training is high on his agenda.

Swans boxing coach Christian Marchegiani, who runs Thump Training Systems and is an authority on boxing for fitness, is sure Hall would be successful in the fitness industry.

"He's had 12 years of learning about fitness while training under some of Australia's best conditioners," Marchegiani says.

"Barry knows how to relate to people - you see the way he interacts with the other players - and he knows what is needed for people to achieve their goals. He challenges them to dig deep when they're hurting and not many people can do that."

Hall, who was a promising amateur boxer before focusing on Australian football, said the Swans have gained some great advantages through their weekly boxing session.

"Thump boxing is a tremendous body workout," he says. "The footwork involved is tremendous for footballers and my sessions with Christian have helped rip the body fat off, and they've given me an insight into something I'd like to pursue."

IN HIS OWN WORDS

* On how the media reported his grand final performance:

"It hurt, of course it hurt. I'm not going to carry on about a lot of that stuff, but I will say I have a long memory."

* On how he played:

"Don't think I didn't try to do everything in my power to change the way I was going out there. It's not as if any player goes out to play badly. I put the effort in, I really did. It was just a bad day."

* On his team's effort in fighting back:

"As a team I'm sure we gained respect. Respect was something we wanted as a team about four years ago because we figured the perception in the league was that we weren't respected."

* On his off-season preparation:

"I used to think I'd go to the extreme at training, but I've gone an extra level. I do all the little things right. This time I've been strict."