Hall anger too costly

Barry Hall, one of Paul Roos's charges at the Swans, is as hard as they come. But unlike Roos, Hall is a very large goose.

As a player, Paul Roos was as hard as they come. The former Fitzroy and Swans centre half-back would take on all comers, and there were few to match his sheer talent, use of the body in contests and ability to read the ball. Barry Hall, one of Roos's charges at the Swans, is as hard as they come. There are few to match his talent, use of the body in contests and ability to read the ball.

But unlike Roos, Hall is a very large goose. Fans have repeatedly seen "big, bad, bustling Barry" allow his temper to over-shadow his match-winning ability. Great theatre; not great for winning games. For his past lack of control he has been suspended by the Swans, suspended by the AFL, and forced to undergo anger-management courses. It would appear that the basic message of those courses has not stuck. Hall lost it again on Sunday, this time giving away three consecutive 50metre penalties to give Hawthorn's Jarryd Roughead a set shot in front of goals when he should have been kicking from the back line.

Hall's actions, at the 12-minute mark with the Swans only four points behind and the ball deep in their forward line, allowed the Hawks to stretch the lead to 10 points and was pivotal in the reigning premier winning by 11 points. Your goal, Baz. In other games, St Kilda and Geelong are still first and second on the ladder after defeating North Melbourne (46 points) and West Coast (22 points) respectively.

A 68-point win by the Bulldogs over Richmond and Carlton's six-point defeat of Brisbane have given the Dogs a one-match buffer in third place. Port Adelaide beat Fremantle by six goals, Adelaide defeated Essendon by 16 points, and Collingwood yesterday trounced Melbourne by 11 goals. [e-mail]