Back on April 13, 2024, I was given an assignment to watch No.50 for Box Hill.
His name was Max Hall. It was a scouting gig for an AFL club which will remain un-named, but I'm happy to reveal I'd never heard of the bloke.
It was at Carrara, against the Suns, with the task made a little more difficult than normal because I was watching on a screen at home via a live stream.
Hall had a high-half-forward role and loomed as a potential mature-age pick-up.
By full-time, in my mind, he loomed as a long shot.
Without giving too much away by detailing every criteria the club was using, I rated Hall's game a five out of 10.
Athleticism was his highest ranked category that day, and he didn't win enough of the ball to rate more than a five out of 10 in that area.
I judged "clean hands below his knees" his elite trait, but the excitement kind of ended there.
The final scouting summary that day:
Worked hard on a wing, end to end running. A quiet day, minimal impact but finished strongly with 4-5 disposals in time on as he kept working. A tick for endurance. A fair bit of unrewarded
running, one of those days. Hitting post on run summed up a
frustrating outing. Perhaps at times could have imposed himself
more on contest, sat back a bit. Pick ups at ground level clean, most
of his best work done done in tight on the inside. Didn't get enough
of the ball, but shows leadership on ground. A game without wow
factor.
Hall looked like a VFL player to me. Hard, committed, and lacking tricks.
Well, I was wrong.
Someone at the Saints obviously saw a lot more on him than I did - and good luck to them. They have a player who will rack up more than 150 games, perhaps even 200, and be a cornerstone of the next generation.
It has taken time to turn me around, and Hall didn't exactly take the AFL by storm, but the clean hands on show amid a scrappy game at Carrara more than two years ago have always been there.
But it is his vision, clean and effective ball-use and ability to almost effortlessly hit the scoreboard that has surprised me.
Hall has played every game this year. A rabid Saints watcher, whose opinion I rate, has him top three in the club's best-and-fairest.
Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera might just storm home and win it if he stays fit, but Hall and Cal Wilkie won't be far behind.
There is some "wow'' about the kid Hall. Well played, Saints.
