Should Dan Hall be in the Subway Socceroos conversation? That was the question asked on this week’s episode of Total A-Leagues.
Hall has helped Auckland FC move within touching distance of the Grand Final in their inaugural Isuzu UTE A-League season, having already claimed a maiden Premiership.
Hall is eyeing an incredible three-peat.
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The star defender won back-to-back Championships at Central Coast Mariners, including an historic treble last season before making the move across the Tasman to Auckland.
On this week’s episode of Total A-Leagues, host and Sydney Morning Herald reporter Vince Rugari posed the question – is Hall bound for a Socceroos call-up?
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“We haven’t spoken much about Dan Hall, which is probably a bit weird by us,” Rugari said, alongside retired Socceroo Tommy Oar.
“I mean, he missed a chunk of the season through injury. Maybe that’s why he sort of wasn’t involved in those discussions.
“But you think about where he’s come from, which is a team on the Central Coast that won the treble, gone to Auckland FC and slotted in straight away.
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“When he’s been there, they win games. In fact, he’s only lost once as a player for Auckland FC, nine out of 14 clean sheets when he plays.
“Tony Popovic should be looking at it very closely, right?”
Former A-Leagues star Oar replied: “I think first and foremost, he’s a player that does slide under the radar.
“The characteristics he has, he’s not the player that’s flying into tackles like you see other defenders in the league. I think he’s positionally very aware so that he doesn’t get into a situation where he needs to make too many last-ditch tackles or defuse a situation in dramatic fashion, because he’s always standing in the right place.
“A player who did that as well was Alex Wilkinson. You rarely saw Wilko kind of have to make slide tackles at the back, but he just seemed to nullify any threat because he read the game so well. I think Dan Hall’s similar.
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“Obviously he’s got tremendous athletic ability. He’s really quick, and when you combine that with his anticipation and these types of things, I think he’s a very, very promising player.
“Whether he’s ready for the Socceroos, I’m not sure. I think that he should be in the discussion. But I think that the exciting thing for him is that I still think there’s levels to him.
“Once he can kind of physically impose himself on attackers and be a bit more of an intimidating prospect to play against, I think that he’s definitely a player that has a huge future, and it’s extremely exciting potentially for the national team.”
