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Once more with ill-feeling as Hall ensures Saints maintain the rage
Richard Hinds
Sydney Morning Herald
June 6, 2006
SHOULD St Kilda defender Matt Maguire jog down to the goal square at the SCG on Saturday night to renew acquaintances with Swans star Barry Hall, expect more than the usual amount of pressure to be applied from both sides during the pre-match handshake.
The consequences of their most recent meeting during last season's preliminary final have become football folklore. Hall was suspended for punching Maguire in the stomach, then reprieved by the tribunal just four days before the grand final after the Swans' counsel exploited a loophole in the reporting rules - still not closed - that allowed an incident that happened at least 30metres from the ball to be declared "in play".
However, while Hall's crisp jab to Maguire's stomach is unlikely to endear the Swans forward to his opponent, it is the behind-the-scenes aftermath to that skirmish that will add extra spice to Saturday night's encounter.
As the Swans prepared their defence for Hall, even before he had been given a one-game ban by the AFL's match review panel, they knew the Saints were unwilling to allow Maguire to give evidence that the contact was minimal - although not merely because the blow had been more significant than that.
Maguire had stayed on the ground for some time after the punch - something noted, in unflattering terms, by television commentator Robert Walls. Subsequently, the Saints defender was vilified by other observers - and a flood of Swans fans on talkback radio - as a "stager" whose supposed acting could cost the Swans the flag.
A St Kilda spokesperson said Maguire was unavailable for comment this week. But it is believed the Saints were furious about the assertions that Maguire had been staging, particularly given his reputation as one of the game's toughest backmen and Hall's well-known skills in the boxing ring.
For that reason, the Saints believed Maguire was in a no-win situation. If he adhered to the unofficial code of silence whereby players appearing as witnesses describe anything short of an iron bar across the temple as "slight contact" and Hall was still suspended, Maguire would be forever vilified as the man who cost Hall a place in the grand final. Had he helped Hall get off, he would still be unfairly cast as a stager.
Inevitably, the Saints' refusal to provide supportive evidence was not the reason Maguire was not asked to tell his story at the tribunal. With the panel deeming the hit only "low impact", and the Swans counsel Terry Forrest, QC, quickly identifying the "in play" loophole, Hall pleaded guilty to the charge and, with the activation points downgraded, escaped with a reprimand.
But asked about the incident by the Herald earlier this year, Hall left no doubt there was lingering ill-feeling about St Kilda's reluctance to help him.
"We tried to get in touch with them during the [preparations for the] tribunal, maybe to get him as a witness or to speak on our behalf," Hall said. "But, luckily, we didn't need to. I suppose there is a lot of criticism on his behalf, and he was pretty hesitant to speak on my behalf because of that and that's fair enough. I can understand that. But that was out of my control." The Hall case was not the only off-field sidelight to the Swans' 31-point preliminary final victory. Sydney entered the match believing the Saints' tough forward Aaron Hamill could have played despite a hip injury, but was being rested for the grand final - a sign St Kilda were looking ahead. Saints coach Grant Thomas has subsequently denied Hamill could have played or that they had underestimated the Swans.
The fallout from that match is just the latest instalment in a century-long rivalry between St Kilda and the Swans that dates back to the "Lake Derby" between the teams at either end of Melbourne's Albert Park Lake.
In modern times, Tony Lockett has intensified the rivalry - particularly when, in St Kilda colours, he smashed Swans defender Peter Caven's jaw then, on a subsequent trip to the SCG, drilled Swans fans who jeered him with a low drop punt. Yet Lockett, like the legendary Roy Cazaly who played 99 games for both St Kilda and South Melbourne, was to become a legend at both clubs.
Now, with the Saints desperate for victory and memories of Hall's clash with Maguire still fresh, expect the next battle in a long-running feud to cause fireworks on Saturday night.
Richard Hinds
Sydney Morning Herald
June 6, 2006
SHOULD St Kilda defender Matt Maguire jog down to the goal square at the SCG on Saturday night to renew acquaintances with Swans star Barry Hall, expect more than the usual amount of pressure to be applied from both sides during the pre-match handshake.
The consequences of their most recent meeting during last season's preliminary final have become football folklore. Hall was suspended for punching Maguire in the stomach, then reprieved by the tribunal just four days before the grand final after the Swans' counsel exploited a loophole in the reporting rules - still not closed - that allowed an incident that happened at least 30metres from the ball to be declared "in play".
However, while Hall's crisp jab to Maguire's stomach is unlikely to endear the Swans forward to his opponent, it is the behind-the-scenes aftermath to that skirmish that will add extra spice to Saturday night's encounter.
As the Swans prepared their defence for Hall, even before he had been given a one-game ban by the AFL's match review panel, they knew the Saints were unwilling to allow Maguire to give evidence that the contact was minimal - although not merely because the blow had been more significant than that.
Maguire had stayed on the ground for some time after the punch - something noted, in unflattering terms, by television commentator Robert Walls. Subsequently, the Saints defender was vilified by other observers - and a flood of Swans fans on talkback radio - as a "stager" whose supposed acting could cost the Swans the flag.
A St Kilda spokesperson said Maguire was unavailable for comment this week. But it is believed the Saints were furious about the assertions that Maguire had been staging, particularly given his reputation as one of the game's toughest backmen and Hall's well-known skills in the boxing ring.
For that reason, the Saints believed Maguire was in a no-win situation. If he adhered to the unofficial code of silence whereby players appearing as witnesses describe anything short of an iron bar across the temple as "slight contact" and Hall was still suspended, Maguire would be forever vilified as the man who cost Hall a place in the grand final. Had he helped Hall get off, he would still be unfairly cast as a stager.
Inevitably, the Saints' refusal to provide supportive evidence was not the reason Maguire was not asked to tell his story at the tribunal. With the panel deeming the hit only "low impact", and the Swans counsel Terry Forrest, QC, quickly identifying the "in play" loophole, Hall pleaded guilty to the charge and, with the activation points downgraded, escaped with a reprimand.
But asked about the incident by the Herald earlier this year, Hall left no doubt there was lingering ill-feeling about St Kilda's reluctance to help him.
"We tried to get in touch with them during the [preparations for the] tribunal, maybe to get him as a witness or to speak on our behalf," Hall said. "But, luckily, we didn't need to. I suppose there is a lot of criticism on his behalf, and he was pretty hesitant to speak on my behalf because of that and that's fair enough. I can understand that. But that was out of my control." The Hall case was not the only off-field sidelight to the Swans' 31-point preliminary final victory. Sydney entered the match believing the Saints' tough forward Aaron Hamill could have played despite a hip injury, but was being rested for the grand final - a sign St Kilda were looking ahead. Saints coach Grant Thomas has subsequently denied Hamill could have played or that they had underestimated the Swans.
The fallout from that match is just the latest instalment in a century-long rivalry between St Kilda and the Swans that dates back to the "Lake Derby" between the teams at either end of Melbourne's Albert Park Lake.
In modern times, Tony Lockett has intensified the rivalry - particularly when, in St Kilda colours, he smashed Swans defender Peter Caven's jaw then, on a subsequent trip to the SCG, drilled Swans fans who jeered him with a low drop punt. Yet Lockett, like the legendary Roy Cazaly who played 99 games for both St Kilda and South Melbourne, was to become a legend at both clubs.
Now, with the Saints desperate for victory and memories of Hall's clash with Maguire still fresh, expect the next battle in a long-running feud to cause fireworks on Saturday night.
