It was perhaps the last thing Hall needed at a time his teammates feared he was on the brink of retirement after being stood down by the Swans for an indefinite period. He'd been told to return to anger management sessions.

Sydney media reported the Swans were keen to recruit Carlton's Brendan Fevola, a move that, if true, would affect Hall's career. He was aware some people had branded him a "thug" for striking out at Collingwood's Shane Wakelin and now he was being grilled by a tiny tot.

"Barry, what does your tattoo mean?" the child asked, pointing at the spider-shaped inkwork that adorns Hall's shoulder.

"Stupidity," Hall replied, presumably as a means to deter the child from ever getting an ink job. "I'm not getting any more tattoos."

There were others, but the question that former rugby league international Mark Geyer - and any Sydneysider reared on league - wanted answered wasn't asked: "Why wasn't Shane Wakelin penalised for taking a dive; for making out he was knocked into yesteryear by a Hall blow in the Swans-Collingwood blockbuster?"

Wakelin implied after the game that there had been some contact, but in an admission several have interpreted as an attempt to help Hall at the judiciary, he conceded he'd "staged" for a free kick.

Wakelin's teammate Dale Thomas defended his colleague, saying he was within his rights to milk the incident for as much as he could. Others disagreed. AFL Players' Association chief executive Brendan Gale said "staging" was not the same as cheating. But, while he termed it gamesmanship, Gale suggested it might be time to penalise dives.

"I thought it was a piss-weak effort by Wakelin," said Geyer, who could consider Hall a kindred spirit, such was the volatile nature of his own career. "If a league player did that - took a dive - the stigma would be too much to live with. The reaction from the other players would be worse than any suspension.

"The fallout … to stand Hall down … was incredible. I've never seen such an overreaction to anything. The Swans are kidding. He brings so much to their team. He's intimidating, he has a presence. Barry Hall has brought so much to that club - and they drop him because a bloke dived. When I read somewhere that Wakelin said he feared for Barry's future I thought that, by taking a dive, he hadn't done too much to help it."

Wakelin returned The Sun-Herald's call but refused to go on the record, even after being told of Geyer's view.

It is understood he despises the notion he's been branded a "diver" but by 4pm on Friday he was clearly over the issue.

However, insiders at the Swans suggested a number of players were seething that Hall's career had been jeopardised because of a dive. The AFL's head of umpiring, Jeff Gieschen, has acknowledged there had been an increase in play-acting as law interpretations had grown more complex, especially in the area of marking.

Some carry heavy consequences.

"We've had situations where a player has caused melees on the ground," Gieschen said.

"A player wheels back holding his face when nothing has happened.

"His teammates run in to fly the flag and it was all started by an attempt to milk a free kick."'

As AFL tries to win over the hearts and minds of Sydney, Geyer's reaction to the notion of players being able to escape reprimand for diving highlighted there was still plenty of work needed to bridge the gulf between the two sporting cultures.

Rugby league players Jarryd Hayne and Paul Gallen were outraged when accused of diving but Neil Cordy, a former Sydney Swan and now a respected Channel Ten sports journalist, explained the idea of taking a dive - or milking a penalty - was not viewed as a serious matter in AFL circles.

"It's seen as the business of conning the umpire," Cordy said. "Diving is not seen in a good light but the ramifications aren't as serious as say, in soccer, where a penalty from a dive could win a game." >HAWKS HAVE EARNED WINGS: VINEY

Hawks assistant coach Todd Viney hopes his club have developed the tenacity to combat Sydney's strength.

"The last four years we've been rebuilding the team slowly, blooding a lot of young players," Viney said.

"We've matured a lot as a team; a lot of the guys that played the Swans over the last three or four years have strong bodies now, which you've got to have to play against Sydney."

SAM LIENERT HAWTHORN believe today's top-four match against Sydney will test their strength and maturity - qualities that have helped the Swans win the past six clashes between the clubs.