Is Big Bad Barry getting close to retirement ?

Question

Have noticed over the years that " long in the tooth" players who have slowed down, use the biff to try and cover up for a lack of skills.

Can anyone recall other players from the past who knocked an opponent out cold, when their career was coming to an end ?

Answer 1

Barry hall still has several years in himself I reckon. His body was playing up fine till this match.

Alastair Lynch in the infamous grand final brawl where he tried to knock wakelin out cold several times. I think he got suspended for 8 games or more but he had already retired

Answer 2

Nope but i just wish Hall would hurry up and retire. he a disgrace to the AFL.

Answer 3

Leigh Mathews whacked Neville bruns, that was a shocker, bruns was jogging past, that was far worse than the hall punch, in my view. at least hall was facing him, i wonder whether some people have ever seen a fight on a field b4.he has said he did the wrong thing, some people will go on just for the sake of goin on about something, it happens in every other aussie rules leagues all over the country.

Answer 4

Maybe 2-3 years to retirement.

I agree with you about players getting long in the tooth & going the biff in their later years. It has been a well known fact that many of the oldies get frustrated by not being able to keep up with the youngsters. They get rings run around them & to even the playing field they belt the younger ones.

RR has named a couple - look at Alistair Lynch in his last game. Look at Rocca now. Leigh Matthews, Glen Archer, Rheyse-Jones (sp) Williams.....

Answer 5

Dermie did when he went from the Hawks to Collingwood and pretty much spent the last year before retirement being suspended for knocking out opponents!!

Shane Crawfords another example of a player who is close to retirement and has just as many match suspensions as Barry Hall (16 matches total)

Answer 6

we will see a couple of seasons of football still from bazza.

when football was football, it was never unusual for a punch to be thrown and another done in return.

Barassi's day and before that it happened.

Answer 7

i think he has 2-3 years left in him, he has been comimg back to good fprm before he lost his head

Answer 8

Neitz, Harvey and Lucas are getting on in age but you don't see them throwing the fist, to categorise all older players because of the action of one thug is totally wrong and misleading and a blight to the good names of the other older players.

Answer 9

No he is not close to retiring and he is not covering a lack of skill with a bit of biff - that has always been part of his nature. Perhaps you should blame Staker for showing no evasion whatsoever, plenty of punches have been thrown in the past and most don't land but if you stand there with your chin out after antagonising your opponent then maybe you should take a closer look at yourself and the game you are playing (this isn't ping pong is it?)