Road to redemption complete
Barry Hall says he'll always consider himself a Western Bulldog after the club gave him a chance at redemption
BARRY Hall didn't want to end his AFL career as the player who resigned from the Sydney Swans mid-season because he couldn't control his temper.
He wanted to end it on a better note; a more positive note, at a club that needed him, and could benefit from what he had to offer both on and off the field.
In late 2009, it was the Western Bulldogs who gave him that chance.
Rodney Eade knew him, having coached him for half a season at the Swans and even lived next door to him for a period, and believed he was a gamble worth taking.
And so Hall came to Whitten Oval, and was handed an opportunity to atone for what he described as the "low point" of his career - walking away from the Swans mid-year after two on-field outbursts over 12 months that saw him suspended twice.
"It didn't sit well when I resigned in Sydney. There's no doubt about that," Hall said on Tuesday, when he announced his career would end when the Bulldogs' season did.
"But I didn’t [play on] for selfish reasons. I thought I had a lot to offer football still, and I wasn't blasé about, 'I just want to play for any club'.
"The fit had to be right, the Bulldogs fit was good and it just felt right.
"I think walking away from it, it's been a good partnership and I've ticked off what I needed to, I think the club have got their value out of it, and in terms of partnership, it probably couldn't have been better."
Hall admitted he felt "restless" during the period between July 2009 when he quit the Swans, and when he was traded to the Dogs for selection No.47 in the NAB AFL Draft in October.
It hadn't been the way he wanted things to end; on 250 games for two clubs with a total of 611 goals, but also with a reputation for having an uncontrollable temper that cast a shadow over his on-field accolades.
When he arrived at the Dogs, he made an effort to become a different type of player. He allowed the self-imposed pressure that had dogged him at the Swans to be lifted, and made an effort to enjoy the game he'd once loved.
With that, he found his temper was easier to control.
"I've probably taken it back a cog, but I think the frustration and all the negative stuff I've struggled with was my own doing," Hall said.
"I put pressure on myself to perform. My later years at Sydney I was carrying injuries and all the rest of it but I still expected myself to perform at the highest level.
"Coming to the Bulldogs, they really made sure that wasn't the case and I made a bit of a pact with myself that I needed to enjoy footy.
"I didn't want to finish as a frustrated footballer who could have done better. I just wanted to enjoy my football and go out on a good note, and it's a big tick to the club."
The burly forward carried the nickname "Big Bad Barry" for much of his career; something he said was unwelcome, but at times, understandable.
"I think I got branded with it early, and I didn't do myself any favours in terms of trying to get rid of it with some of my actions on the field," he said.
"But it didn't sit pretty with me. I've said it in the past it doesn't really suit me, but that's one thing that sticks and I didn't do myself any favours in terms of what I did on the field."
Hall will miss the mateship that comes with football clubs the most; the practical jokes - "moving blokes' cars" - and light-hearted banter - "hanging it on Lindsay Gilbee", but he won't miss ice baths.
He doesn't really mind how people outside the Bulldogs remember him, but he hopes his current teammates think of him as someone who "worked hard, played hard, and was light-hearted and approachable".
"Someone young blokes can come to and not be intimidated in any way," he said.
"I think I've done that, and the guys that I've played with over the years have seen me in a different light.
"In terms of other people, it doesn't really bother me how I'm perceived but it's those guys, and I think I'm certainly perceived differently now than when I resigned from Sydney, so that's a good thing."
Hall will spend the months after his last game promoting his book, which will be released in August, before he marries fiancée Sophie in November.
He might consider a career in boxing at some point, but will immediately rest his tired body and isn't likely to expose it to bush or local footy in at least 2012.
He's proud of what he achieved with the Swans, including the 2005 premiership for which he was co-captain.
But, when he looks back on his career of 283-plus games, he'll think of himself as a Bulldog - the club he supported as a youngster, and where he played his "most enjoyable" football.
"I think you see the way I play [now] … I'm smiling, which you wouldn't have seen before, and I'm really enjoying my football," he said.
"I can't thank the club and the coaching staff, and the players, enough.
"The players have certainly reiterated there was no pressure on me at all, and as I said before, the two years I've had here have been the most enjoyable, no doubt.
"Everything happens for a reason, whether it's good or bad, and this has brought me to a good place."