DROPPED for Box Hill's VFL preliminary final in 2023, Max Hall's footy career was at a crossroads.
The options were to either head back to community footy, or knuckle down and get to work. Thankfully for St Kilda, the latter was the path Hall chose. It led to his selection with the fourth pick of the 2024 AFL Mid-Season Rookie Draft and on Sunday, two goals on his AFL debut.
"We dropped him for our preliminary final to play Gold Coast in 2023, and I thought maybe that might be the last we see of him," Box Hill head coach Zane Littlejohn said on the State of Play podcast.
"But the character of the man to come back fitter, stronger, faster last year, and then get picked up mid-year was great reward and speaks volumes of his character and the person he is, not just the footballer."
Despite a tough day for the Saints as a whole, going down to Adelaide by 63 points, Hall was undoubtedly a bright spot with his two majors from 16 disposals, offering a dangerous avenue to goal.
"I was lucky, I got a bit of an insight early. I ran into Robert Harvey, who's obviously coaching at St Kilda, and I said, 'How's Maxy going?' and he goes, 'Mate, I reckon he's more than a 50-50 chance to be out there in round one'," Littlejohn said.
"So, I sort of had my hopes that he might get the opportunity, and then when I saw the (extended) squad named, I just sent him a message with the thumbs up, thumbs down and that's all I said. And he gave me a thumbs up and I just kept it between us.
"I was super rapt that he got the opportunity and look, he held himself really well and hopefully it's the start of a long career."
It is these kinds of wins that keep Littlejohn in the coach's seat, not only heading up Box Hill's VFL program, but also taking the reins for the Big V game for a second straight year, whereby the best of the VFL will take on South Australia during the AFL's Gather Round.
"I love it, and that's part of the reason I do the job I do. Like, yes, I want to win football games and do all that, but to see the young men reach their dreams… as a coach it makes you really proud," Littlejohn said.
"That's what I love and that's why being part of the Big V again is something that really excites me, because there's some young men and even staff who have the ambition to go even further with their coaching or their careers, to play a small part in that."
