Josh Hall (footballer) explained

Josh Hall
Full Name:Joshua Hall
Birth Date:3 April 1990
Birth Place:Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Height:197cm (78inches)
Weight:92kg (203lb)
Club1:Penrith Panthers
Year1start:2016
Appearances1:0
Tries1:0
Goals1:0
Fieldgoals1:0
Points1:0
Afl Position:Ruckman, Backman
Afl Club1:Gold Coast
Afl Year1start:2012
Afl Year1end:15
Afl Appearances1:7
Afl Goals1:3
Afl Behinds1:2
Afl Points1:20
Updated:2015
Source:[1]

Josh Hall (born 3 April 1990) is former dual-code professional (Gold Coast Suns Australian rules football and Penrith Panthers National Rugby League) from Townsville in Queensland.

Early life

Hall was born and raised in Townsville, Queensland.[2] He played junior rugby league in his younger years, playing the positions of fullback and centre.[3] He supported the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League throughout his schooling years at William Ross State High School.[4] As a teenager, Hall decided to focus on High jump with the dream of one day representing Australia at the Olympics.[5]

High jump career

Hall won the bronze medal at the 2007 World Youth Championships in Athletics. He jumped a personal best of 2.26m nine times in 2010 which cleared the B qualifying height for the 2010 Commonwealth Games. However, he was overlooked for the 2010 Australian Commonwealth Games team and decided to take a break from high jump.[6] Later in 2010 he attended training at the Townsvile City Lions AFC as a part of practical work in his sports science degree at James Cook University. Despite only being required to run water initially, the trip would result in Hall playing Australian rules football for the first time at 20 years of age. The following year saw Hall sign up to play senior football for the Curra Swans in the AFL Townsville competition.

After just four games of senior football for Curra, Hall attracted the attention of a Gold Coast Suns Academy scout.[7] Although not officially a part of the team, Hall was invited to play football for the Gold Coast Suns reserves team in 2011 and showed much promise as a ruckman. He also fell 2 centimeters shy of qualifying for the High Jump in the 2012 London Olympics.

AFL career

Hall was drafted with the 94th pick in the 2012 AFL rookie draft by the Gold Coast Suns. After weeks of solid form in the NEAFL, he was selected to play for the Suns senior team for their clash with the Richmond Tigers in Cairns. In his AFL debut he kicked two goals in a two-point victory over Richmond.[8] Hall managed seven senior AFL games over his four-year AFL career before being delisted on 8 September 2015.[9] In a radio interview conducted on 14 September 2015, Hall stated he wanted a contract extension with the Gold Coast and only explored his options after he was made aware that he would not be re-signed.[10]

Statistics

|-! scope="row" style="text-align:center"| 2012| || 46|| 2|| 2|| 1|| 5|| 3|| 8|| 4|| 0|| 1.00|| 0.50|| 2.50|| 1.50|| 4.00|| 2.00|| 0.00|- style="background:#eaeaea;"! scope="row" style="text-align:center"| 2013| || 46|| 3|| 1|| 1|| 14|| 11|| 25|| 10|| 5|| 0.33|| 0.33|| 4.67|| 3.67|| 8.33|| 3.33|| 1.67|- ! scope="row" style="text-align:center"| 2014| || 46|| 0|| 0|| 0|| 0|| 0|| 0|| 0|| 0|| 0.00|| 0.00|| 0.00|| 0.00|| 0.00|| 0.00|| 0.00|- style="background:#eaeaea;"! scope="row" style="text-align:center"| 2015| || 46|| 2|| 0|| 0|| 6|| 3|| 9|| 1|| 10|| 0.00|| 0.00|| 3.00|| 1.50|| 4.50|| 0.50|| 5.00|- class="sortbottom"! colspan=3|AFL Career! 7! 3! 2! 25! 17! 42! 15! 15! 0.43! 0.29! 3.57! 2.43! 6.00! 2.14! 2.14|}

NRL career

See also: List of players who have converted from one football code to another.

In May 2015, it was revealed that Hall met with Gold Coast Titans coach Neil Henry at Gold Coast Airport to discuss a potential switch of codes but was informed he would need to prove himself in the Queensland Cup before an NRL contract would be offered.[11] Hall flew to Sydney in August 2015 to meet with Penrith Panthers General Manager Phil Gould where the two discussed switching codes. On 8 September 2015, Hall was signed by the Penrith Panthers on a two-year deal.[12] Josh played for Penrith's Intrust Super Premiership Team, which is one step below the NRL squad. He was released at the end of Season 2016.

In 2017, Hall signed with the Townsville Blackhawks upon returning to his hometown.[13]

Return to Australian Rules

Hall signed with the QAFL's Southport Sharks in 2018.[14]

Statistics

Season Team Games Tries Goals F/G Points
2016 Penrith Panthers (NSW Cup)201154152
Total201154152

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://www.footywire.com/afl/footy/pp-gold-coast-suns--josh-hall AFL - Footy Wire
  2. News: Panthers snare code-hopper Hall . Penrith Panthers . 8 September 2015 . 8 September 2015.
  3. News: Suns player Josh Hall signs two-year deal with Penrith Panthers . Boswell . Tom . . 8 September 2015 . 8 September 2015.
  4. News: Former Gold Coast Sun Josh Hall signs two-year deal with Penrith . . 8 September 2015 . 9 September 2015.
  5. News: High Jump Star Hall Heads To AFL . Stewart . Anthony . Fox Sports . 5 September 2011 . 8 September 2015.
  6. Web site: AFL debut a huge leap for ex high-jumper . GoldCoast . 12 July 2012 . 15 July 2012.
  7. News: AFL Jumps At Josh Hall . Stewart . Anthony . Fox Sports . 27 May 2011 . 10 September 2015.
  8. News: Hunt's post-siren goal gives Suns AFL win . . 14 July 2012 . 15 July 2012.
  9. News: Suns delist four to continue clean-out . AFL.com . 8 September 2015 . 8 September 2015.
  10. News: On The Air: Josh Hall . Penrith Panthers . 14 September 2015 . 15 September 2015.
  11. News: Josh Hall takes steps to make switch from AFL to rugby league via Gold Coast Titans . Balym . Todd . Courier Mail . 14 May 2011 . 8 September 2015.
  12. News: Penrith Panthers boss Phil Gould poaches Josh Hall from Gold Coast Suns . Webster . Andrew . Sydney Morning Herald . 8 September 2015 . 8 September 2015.
  13. Web site: Josh Hall « Mendi Townsville & Districts Blackhawks RLFC . 16 February 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170301001556/https://www.blackhawkstsv.com.au/player/josh-hall/ . 1 March 2017 . dead.
  14. https://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/sport/local-sport/former-gold-coast-afl-and-penrith-panthers-rugby-league-player-josh-hall-signs-for-southport-sharks-neafl-team/news-story/d4bbc637d14c9ab47f9ff0e575e8c468 Josh Hall’s shock return to Gold Coast footy