Barry Hall will today announce his plans to retire from football at the end of the 2011 season.
The Bulldogs star forward will front a press conference at Whitten Oval at midday today and explain his decision to retire.
The 34-year-old has struggled with injuries in recent years and has seen him miss 7 matches this season.
Hall went on the record earlier this season saying he would retire if he felt his body could no longer stand up to the demands of AFL football.
“The next month for me is pretty big,” Hall told the The Footy Show in an interview in early June.
“If I can’t give this group anything … I’ll certainly retire, I’ll step aside for a younger guy.”
Since then Hall has played 5 matches and worked his way into some good form on the field.
Hall has kept a strong relationship with coach Rodney Eade throughout his time at the Bulldogs and admitted to speaking with Eade and asking him to make a tough call on Hall if he thought the 283 game veteran could no longer pull his weight.
“I spoke to Rocket (Eade) … I told him in no uncertain terms if I’m not pulling my weight, I want to be told, and I’ll step aside.” Hall said in the same interview back in June.
Despite this it is believed that Hall made the decision to retire himself and is expected to play our the remainder of the season.
The Bulldogs will travel to Sydney this weekend to face Hall’s former side the Swans and is a must win game if the Dogs are to keep there finals hopes alive.
Hall played 162 games and kicked 467 goals for the Swans after moving to Sydney after a 5 year stint at St Kilda where he played in 88 games and kicked 144 goals.
After moving to Whitten Oval in 2010 Hall has played 33 games and kicked 104 goals. His 5 goal haul against North Melbourne on the weekend made Hall the first AFL/VFL player to ever kick 100+ goals at three different clubs.
Hall’s achievements don’t stop there. He was a member of the 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2010 All-Australian team and twice represented his country in the International Rules series.
Hall’s greatest career achievement would be the 2005 Premiership in which he captained the Swans to a 4-point victory over West Coast.
Despite so many highlights in Hall’s career many will remember his many low-lights which has stained Halls reputation in the past. Barry’s gutless king-hit on West Coast’s Brent Staker will leave a stain on Hall’s name for a long time. The punch which saw Hall miss the next 7 matches due to suspension.
