‘Brought me back into footy’: How Barry Hall’s kids reconnected him with the Swans

September 9, 2026 — 4:10pmUntil last year, Australian rules football was largely something in Barry Hall’s past. The Swans’ 2005 premiership captain had loved playing the game, but rarely watched it now living on the Gold Coast.Now his kids have not only helped him rediscover the joy of the game, but also reconnect with his former AFL club.Barry Hall celebrates with his children at the SCG.Seven“I didn’t really expose the kids to what I did or where I was from or anything like that as a player, but one thing we did do was we went down to the Swans for the 2005 premiership [anniversary] celebration [last year],” Hall said.“Then we sat down and we watched the documentary on that 2005 premiership, Shake Down the Thunder, and I forgot half of what we did.“It was amazing for me to sit down and watch it, but for my kids to sit down and watch it as well, and they were all in tears.”Two of Hall’s children, Miller and Houston, went viral last weekend for their passionate celebration during the Swans’ victory over Brisbane.The boys were nervous ahead of the qualifying final; they had travelled to Swans games before from the Gold Coast and only experienced losses. Such is their passion for the club, they felt they might be a bad omen. Ultimately, they proved the opposite.Ten minutes into the second quarter, the Swans had a 25-point lead but had conceded three successive goals. Miller took off his Swans jumper, twirled it above his head and roared on his team standing beside Houston. The SCG crowd loved it, and straight after Miller’s appearance on the big screen the Swans kicked three majors of their own.“My eldest boy, who was the one celebrating against Brisbane, Miller, he was like: ‘Dad, I want to play for the Swans’,” Hall said.“It was just so cool because I wouldn’t push anything on them, and it’s worked out exactly how I’d want it to; they have gravitated towards the Swans themselves ... it’s brought me back into footy, I love watching footy with them.”Swans captain Barry Hall holding aloft the AFL Premiership Cup Dallas KilponenMiller’s undisputed favourite Swan is Errol Gulden, who had 34 disposals and kicked a memorable goal last Saturday. During his time in Sydney, Hall’s best friend was Errol’s father Ibo.“I actually babysat Errol when he was two or three, and we were very, very close with his dad, and then I moved away and we sort of lost contact,” Hall said.“I remember he messaged me [a few years ago] saying, ‘oh, Errol’s in the academy now’ and he goes, ‘I’m blaming you because I wanted him to be a soccer player!’“And now he’s one of the better players in the club, I’m watching thinking, ‘I used to babysit this kid’; it’s insane.”The celebration by the Hall siblings became a prized memory of one the Swans’ best performances at the SCG. For Hall, it was a reminder what makes Australian rules good for children; the ability to express themselves and show passion.“I’ve had other parents say to me, ‘that is so good because when we go to the footy, my kids start to yell and scream and jump up, and we tell them to sit down’. Now they say they can realise that’s the wrong thing to do; just let them support,” Hall said.“Let the passion come out. It was really nice to see. We’re very much about let the kids be kids.“We were in a corporate box, and I did say to [Swans chief executive] Matthew Pavlich, ‘is this all right? Because I know it’s probably not for you guys.’ He said ‘mate, this is great, look at all the faces around watching the boys’. It was just joy.Barry Hall playing is a former captain of the Sydney Swans.Dallas KilponenHall was hoping the Swans would put in a strong performance against the Lions after the turbulence of having Riley Bice, Chad Warner, Isaac Heeney, James Jordon and Nick Blakey suspended for breaching behavioural standards, but was overwhelmed by what he saw with his children.“I was just a small brick in the foundation of starting the Bloods culture. There are a lot of people behind the scenes who have done a lot of work, and the current playing group have done a lot of work on sustaining what we created,” Hall said.“And for that to be questioned, we needed to rally now and show our support as past players.“When you get fired up emotionally, there’s usually a spike for five or 10 minutes and then it wears off once you get into the crux of the game. [But against Brisbane] that just didn’t happen, which I was really surprised with.“To be sustained for the entirety of the game, and then when the game was done, 40 points up, they didn’t give up at all on the relentlessness. They were tackling, chasing, smothering balls.“It was really cool to see because that’s one of the things we live by [at the Swans]; being relentless.”Hall understands better than most that a premiership is not won after an outstanding qualifying final. He and his boys will be back at the SCG for next week’s preliminary final, with celebrations ready.“You’ve got to keep showing up. It’s been a good turnaround for the boys, but we’ve got a couple of games to go. We’re coming down, we couldn’t miss it.”Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter.From our partners