Ex-AFL forward Barry Hall stars for Tasmanian club Port Cygnet in elimination final win
Barry Hall qualified for finals after a planned cameo with Tasmanian club Port Cygnet. It’s a good thing he did after booting this matchwinning haul for the local side.
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Big, bad Barry Hall has still got it — and he can still draw a crowd.
Fourteen years after captaining the Sydney Swans to the 2005 AFL title, Hall is aiming for another premiership — in Tasmania.
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Hall played the final three regular-season games for Southern Football League side Port Cygnet, and yesterday helped steer them to a home elimination final victory over New Norfolk.
Despite being 42, Hall thrived on the big local occasion, booting eight goals as Cygnet won 15.8 (98) to 13.6 (84).
He’s still big and bad despite being a few kilos heavier than in his playing prime, acting a decoy as Cygnet ran away with the game in the final quarter.
The former Swans, St Kilda and Western Bulldogs full-forward was the first AFL player to kick 100 goals for three teams when in his prime.
He played for Port Cygnet — a rural town 40 minutes south of Hobart — as a one-off last month, but enjoyed the experience so much he was enticed back for two more games, qualifying himself and the team for the finals.
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He booted seven goals against Lindisfarne in a narrow loss in July in front of 2000 people — more than the town’s entire population — then kicked four in the mud against Sorrell and then five away to New Norfolk to seal a home elimination final against the same side.
He’s become a big favourite with both his teammates and locals.
“He’s very patient, he’ll pose with everyone for a photo and has become a big hit,” says Evelyn Duggan, who works at the local newsagent and serves at the team snack shop for home games.
Hall has drawn big crowds for his home games, with club sponsors digging deep to pay his match fees. He rewarded their investment kicking 8.2 on a blustery Saturday afternoon.
The Swans’ leading goalkicker from 2002 to 2008, Hall has been on his best behaviour in Tasmania. His AFL career, which ended with the Bulldogs in 2011, was punctuated by several controversial “brain snaps”.
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He also punched two players when guesting for Labrador against Palm Beach Currumbin on the Gold Coast two years ago and was dismissed from Melbourne radio station Triple M last year after making on-air remarks that were deemed unacceptable and inappropriate by station management.
Cygnet captain-coach Ben Cato says he’s been a positive influence.
“We’ve got a young group and they get a thrill out of playing with him — he’s really helped our footy,” Cato told local media.