In today's football environment, when stories are heard about ex-AFL players playing local or country football, quite often the underlying tone of the story revolves around player payments and can sway to the negative side quite quickly.
Quite often though, the lure of playing with childhood friends can over-ride any desire of financial gain, which is the case with former St Kilda, Sydney and Western Bulldog Barry Hall playing with the Broadford Football Netball Club in 2013.
Hall, who started his football career with the Roos before achieving the dream of every person who's ever kicked a football - holding a Premiership Cup aloft at the MCG on that last Saturday in September, has returned to his old stomping ground for 2013 to play with friends, including new Broadford coach Aaron "Skip" Bray.
"When I started my footy career, I always said to my mates that I'd like to play with them one day, and I'm fortunate and lucky enough to be able to do it" Hall said in the lead-up to Broadford's season opener against Lancefield this coming Sunday.
"Going straight from school into TAC Cups and the draft, I've never played footy with my mates".
"Skip's been a big part of it, being the coach, and he does a great job with the younger blokes".
Whilst Broadford finished in the bottom half of the Riddell District Football League ladder in 2012, Hall has been impressed with the early signs his new team-mates have shown, signs that already have him thinking that the Roos could be headed back up the ladder this season.
"We've got a pretty enthusiastic young group who are pretty hard at it", Hall said.
"Whilst I haven't seen a lot of them to be totally honest, the practice matches I've seen have been quite impressive and certainly surprised me."
"They won't die wondering, that's for sure - they're a really hard contested ball team".
"We're hoping to get some results early, obviously, and if things go good and injuries and all the rest of it plays into our hands, we'd love to play finals, but that's a long way away."
It will come as no surprise to those in attendance at Harley Hammond Reserve as to where Hall, who kicked 746 goals in his AFL career with the Saints, Swans and Bulldogs, will line up on Sunday
"I'll play forward obviously - I don't think the old body would get around the ground too well in any other position!!", Hall stated.
"I'll play deep forward, and even do a bit of ruck work in the forward line - that's probably my role for match day."
Whilst many high-profile players tend to have a target on them when they return to local footy from players trying to make a name for themselves, Hall - who was notorious for involving himself in physical alterations in his AFL days - is confident that he won't have any problems with this in the RDFL this season.
"I think it's the attitude you go out there with that will rub off", Hall commented.
"If you go out there pretty relaxed your opponent will sense that, but if you go out there being [silly], stuff's going to go down, that's just the way it is."
"I played local footy in Wangaratta last year and didn't have a problem at all, I was chatting to my opponent and we actually enjoyed each other's company, which was quite different to the AFL".
"That's how I'll be playing, I'm going out there to have a bit of fun - all the "hero" stuff I did when I was younger!!"
On Sunday afternoon at Harley Hammond Reserve, surrounded by mates old and new, Barry Hall will feel for the first time in a long while on a football field, at home.
Last Modified on 05/04/2013 14:26