Goodes Sensed Hall Frustration
The Age
Thursday July 10, 2008
IN HIS first game as a Swans spectator in nine years, Adam Goodes admitted yesterday that even before Barry Hall's attempted strike of Collingwood's Shane Wakelin, he felt something was wrong with the Sydney forward.
Goodes was speaking on the same day that co-captain Brett Kirk described Hall as a "good person . . . with a bad habit" who needed to take responsibility for what had happened.Goodes said the first time the ball went near Hall on Saturday night, he sensed things were not right. After 204 consecutive games, a one-match suspension had forced the dual Brownlow medallist to sit in the grandstand at ANZ Stadium.Yesterday Goodes said the main thing for Hall was to find a "nice mental state where he can play footy and get on with his life". "Just watching on the weekend, he (Hall) definitely looked very frustrated and from the very first forward entry (inside the attacking 50 metres), he was throwing Wakelin around," Goodes said. "Look, I'm not frustrated with Hally's actions on the weekend, but as soon as I saw them, I was just like, 'Well something isn't right here.' "It was a little bit disappointing, but at the same time, footy aside, we just want Hally to feel OK, not get so frustrated out there on the field. Whether it takes a week or two weeks, we'll be here to support him, the football club, the leadership group and the players. "I sent him a text message last night saying we're here for him and we're going to miss him and we look forward to him getting back around the football club. "You just want Hally to be in a nice mental state where he can play footy and get on with his life. "At the end of the day, football is what we're paid to do here but it's more about the person, and this is one of those cases with Hally, and we'll do everything we can to help him get back to playing good footy, and we know that he can do that." Hall surprised some yesterday when he joined his teammates on the SCG for a training session. Kirk said he had been unsure when Hall would be back at training, and there had been some thought that he might take a few days away from the club to clear his thoughts. Asked if he agreed with Hall's claim that he was trying to push rather than strike Wakelin, Kirk said: "It's just totally unacceptable. It's a reflex action that he doesn't even know he's done. "I think that why he's come out and said he pushed. I don't think he realises what he's actually done, which says to me there's something going on that he needs to work through, so if he does get put in the same position, he doesn't do something without even thinking about it. "One of the main things I said to him was that he has to take responsibility for what's happened, he has to put his hand up and admit that his actions are unacceptable at our footy club."He needs to do something about it and when he does that, I'm sure he'll be able to work through it, and I believe Barry will be able to get himself back playing footy. "Barry is the one who needs to take responsibility. He's the only one who can change." Kirk, who said the matter was "maybe one of the toughest" the leaders had had to deal with, also confirmed that Hall, who last year surrendered the co-captaincy of the club, had stood down from the leadership group.
© 2008 The Age
