Aaron Hall has been at the Gold Coast SUNS for more than four years, but Monday’s training was the first pre-season session he has completed with the main group during his time at Metricon Stadium.
That is not a misprint. Injury has plagued Hall’s summers in Queensland, with the Tasmanian completing less than one per cent of last year’s pre-season after undergoing major surgery on his groins.
The 25-year-old didn’t begin running until the NAB Challenge series started in early March and it took him until after the mid-season bye to work his way into the 2015 campaign.
But after being shifted into the midfield in round 17 - out of necessity more than anything else - Hall produced a scintillating patch of form in the final seven weeks of the season to storm home in the Club Champion to finish seventh.
“I’m really looking forward to this pre-season. Monday was the first day that I’ve completed with the group since I’ve been at the club,” Hall told reporters at a press conference on Wednesday morning.
“I’m just excited to be pretty fit and healthy and I’m just looking forward to building a good endurance base to be able to run with the elite midfielders of the AFL and also stick to my strengths as well.
“I’m looking forward to having a good four to five months on the track and then leading into next season.”
Despite Gold Coast’s engine room being severely depleted and relying heavily on too few, Hall finished the year with a full head of steam, increasing his fitness base as the year progressed following a non-existent pre season.
After overcoming a slow start to the season, the transformed midfielder didn’t want the season to finish as he equalled or bettered his personal best disposal haul in six of the last seven games, averaging 27.3 possessions in that period.
“I started to feel quite good, personally. I didn’t want the season to end because my body was starting to feel quite good then,” Hall said.
“Obviously I had the groin reconstruction the year before and that took a long time to get over and I didn’t have much of a pre-season, so I was still trying to gain fitness through my games in the first half of the season.
“I felt like I started to gain a lot of fitness towards the end of the season through the midfield. Even playing in the midfield, when I first went in there, I wasn’t running games out quite as well as I would have liked.
“Towards the end of the season I started to run those games out quite well, so touchwood I can have an injury free pre season and work on my endurance base and hopefully I can take that into 2016.”
Fit Hall looking to build on strong finish
Aaron Hall has been at the Gold Coast SUNS for more than four years, but Monday’s training was the first pre-season session he has completed with the main group during his time at Metricon Stadium.
