Aaron Hall – Deck of DT 2022

Name: Aaron Hall
Team: North Melbourne Kangaroos
Position: DEF
Price: $914,000
Bye round: 14
2021 average: 109
2021 games played: 20
Predicted average: 103
Draft range: 1st or 2nd DEF

Click here for 2022 Fantasy prices.

Why should I pick him?

The most expensive defender in the game, Aaron Hall turned out to be a season-changing addition for fantasy coaches in 2021. The born again North defender averaged 111.6 from Round 7 onwards and 123.5 in the final six games of the year, claiming the title as the best defender the game had to offer. Hall has had bright spots in his fantasy career before, but was his output last year an anomaly or can we expect more of the same from the Roos veteran?

You have to go back to 2016 to find the only other time Hall posted a triple-figure fantasy average, a time when he led to Gold Coast Suns in disposals and seemed to be emerging as a fantasy star right before our eyes. Of course, footy fans know that he fell out of favour with his career seemingly in the balance as he crossed over to join North Melbourne. In his first two seasons with the club, Hall couldn’t find his mojo as a Roo, but that all changed against the Dees early last year when he erupted for 33 touches, 12 marks and a score of 143!

From that moment on Hall didn’t look back, becoming a fantasy coaches wet dream and a mainstay in successful sides, boasting a healthy 3:1 kick to handball ratio while hauling down 7.5 marks each time out. In fact, he and teammate Jack Ziebell were the only players in the league who recorded at least 150 marks and 400 kicks on the season, a threshold that saw Hall accumulate 13 scores of 100 or more from his final 16 games.

North Melbourne was happy for him to be their primary ball user and there’s nothing to suggest his role will change entering the new season. In the recent match simulation at North HQ, Hall could be found streaking past congested packs for an outlet handball and a line-breaking run or being utilised heavily as the ball was switched in the backline. His health has plagued him at times last year, but finally, at the age of 31, it appears as though Hall has carved out a niche as the Kangaroos’ go-to man when bringing the ball out of the backline. That should see him score in healthy doses throughout 2022 and once again challenge for the title of D1.

Why shouldn’t I pick him?

Following his breakout season, Aaron Hall doesn’t come cheap. Not only is the rebounding Roo the most expensive defender at $914K, he will cost you more than the likes of Clayton Oliver, Tim Taranto and Brodie Grundy. You could instead choose someone like Jack Crisp ($60K less), Jake Lloyd ($91K less) or Lachie Whitfield ($119K less) as your top defender and utilise that cash elsewhere, with Hall’s breakeven of 109 a tough ask for any DEF to match.

I’m still confident that Hall will maintain his high point totals in 2022, but there could be a lull to commence the season which would lead to the popular defender slipping in price. Residing in nearly 20% of Classic sides, there is clearly a large chunk of coaches that share that similar belief. I wouldn’t be shocked if North continue to feed Hall the footy, although, it may be a tall task for him to regularly drop 120+ scores if the Roos continue to struggle and hover near the bottom of the ladder now the opposing teams know he’ll be one of their main weapons.

Hall will still likely score well regardless of the Kangaroos’ ladder position, but his health will cause some coaches to think twice before investing. Part of the reason he took until Round 7 to become a household fantasy name was due to his injury concerns, with preseason woes leading to Hall missing Round 1 and being used as the sub in Round 2, before a concussion ended his night early against Geelong in Round 5. If you apply the Calvin effect and remove those two injury-affected scores, then Hall’s average shoots up to an impressive 118.5 – however, it’s worth mentioning that he’s only played one full season in his 10 years as an AFL pro…

Deck of DT Rating.

ACE

Debating whether to start with Aaron Hall in your Classic side or not, comes down to a bit of personal preference. Clearly, we’ve seen that he can thrive in a role as North’s mainstream drive out of defence and that doesn’t appear to change, but does that mean we’re really going to pay for a defender that costs the same amount as Sam Walsh?! He’s bounced in and out of my D1 slot all offseason so far and he’ll likely do so right up until the ball in bounced in Round 1.

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