Hall breathes easy at North

NORTH Melbourne’s Aaron Hall has revealed how a serious throat issue left him struggling to breathe and close to fainting during games across the past 18 months.

Speaking ahead of today’s Good Friday clash against Essendon, Hall said he had recently been diagnosed with vocal cord dysfunction — an abnormal narrowing of the larynx — which saw him not getting enough oxygen during matches, causing early fatigue.

He has since been receiving treatment to strengthen his vocal cords, resulting in him feeling fresher in last week’s win over Adelaide.

“It is a really sharp pain down in your throat, you are wheezing and not getting enough oxygen,” Hall, an asthmatic, said of the feelings he could not shake in his last two years with Gold Coast.

“When you go to breathe, your vocal cords expand, and mine don’t when I get fatigued. It happens generally in the first quarter and I can’t get enough oxygen and struggle to breathe.

“I feel like I am going to topple over and faint.”

His condition was a mystery that was only resolved nine days ago, to his great relief.

“I am so glad we found the problem,” he said. “AFL footy is already hard enough, let alone going into it not being able to breathe [properly]. I base my game on my repeat speed and my second and third efforts, that’s my trademark, then when you get to games, your legs are fine, but you feel like you need to close your eyes and faint.”

Hall has played four games for the Kangaroos since joining the club from Gold Coast at the end of last season. He is confident the work he is now doing on his breathing will help take his game to the next level.