If you think Bachar Houli deserved to have the book thrown at him this week for his hit on Jed Lamb, then take a look at Barry Hall hitting Brent Staker in 2008 and you’ll think the Sydney captain was lucky not to be locked up.
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Back in his playing days Hall was never going to get a good word from the Prime Minister, but the former hard man says fatherhood has made him see his past acts in a different light.
Hall king-hit Staker, knocking out the West Coast defender immediately and the sight of his eyes rolling back in his head before he fell to the ground is as memorable as any in football.
“What I did was not great,” Hall said on The Footy Show on Thursday night.
“(Brent) said it was a part of footy – which it isn’t. It was a low act and something he shouldn’t have to live through now.”
But the former Eagle says he’s well and truly moved on.
''I think the incident was probably worse for you (Hall), but we move on now,” Staker said.
“You’re a dad now ... don’t let this sit over your head and ruin all those good times.’’
The birth of Hall’s first son seven weeks ago has played a big part in the former tough guy’s remorse.
''How comfortable you are with it is a credit to you,” he said to Staker.
“You shouldn’t have to deal with it as a football player.
''I was going to say it was a one-off incident but it wasn’t, it’s something that continually happened through my career.
''If I could take it back I certainly would. I apologised on the phone to you but if I could take it back I certainly would, a thousand times over.”
