You could probably forgive Aaron Hall for being satisfied with his start to 2016.
After two games, the 25-year-old is averaging 34 disposals per game, ranked equal third in the competition alongside Hawthorn’s Josh Gibson. Only Gibson’s premiership teammate Sam Mitchell and Swan Luke Parker are ahead of them.
Hall is also averaging 600 metres gained per game and is running at a disposal efficiency of 81%. Simply elite numbers and even more stunning given where the Tasmanian was this time last year.
But while pleased with his first two games, the emerging midfielder isn’t 100 per cent satisfied with where he’s at, still looking at finding ways to improve and add to his overall game.
With the experienced Gary Ablett and Michael Rischitelli as well as ball magnet Dion Prestia alongside him in the engine room, Hall is determined to absorb as much information as he can, like a sponge in a bowl of water.
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“I’ve been quite pleased with how I’ve been going,” Hall told SUNS TV.
“Obviously there’s still a lot of areas to improve, around stoppages and body work and things like that.
“I haven’t played too many games in the midfield so I’m trying to learn as much as I can. It’s been good having Gaz and Dion back and these guys, Rischitelli around the ball, experienced guys that have played a lot of football in the midfield.
“So I’m trying to add things to my game. I’ve been relatively happy with how I’ve been going individually and obviously as a team very happy with how the team’s playing so it’s been a good start to the season but I know there’s a lot of hard work ahead.”
With the SUNS’ first-choice midfield absent for most of 2015, Hall was thrown into the deep end in the second half of the season, given a midfield role and responsibility that belied his experience in that area of the ground.
It provided a steep learning curve for the Hobart product, who continues to develop his craft on a week-by-week basis.
“I did learn a lot in the last seven to eight games last year and I took that into the pre-season and tried to learn as much as I can over the pre-season,” Hall said.
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“During games you learn a lot more about different ways to use your body, different ways to be able to find the football so just trying to add things to my game each week and try to improve each week.”
This week provides another opportunity for Hall to learn and if the SUNS can bring the pressure and intensity demonstrated in the first two games of 2016, the scoreboard should take care of itself.
“We’ve just got to come out and bring the intent and the effort and the pressure that we’ve been bringing in the first two games,” he said.
“On the weekend (against Fremantle) our pressure was up there with the best in the AFL so if we can bring that and bring the heat to them and then go the other side of the ground and hurt them on the scoreboard I’m pretty sure we’ll be able to win and win comfortably.”