Who is Jordon Hall? What to expect from City's new defensive signing

Melbourne City fans were caught off-guard yesterday when the club announced the signing of former Academy product Jordon Hall on a two-year deal.

The fairly low-profile announcement offered a brief insight into Hall’s style of play and a summary of his career, but the 23-year-old’s journey back to City is certainly one worth recounting.

Photo: Melbourne City FC

Having initially joined the Melbourne club back in 2015 from Blacktown City in New South Wales, the then-17-year-old was quickly identified by John van’t Schip after impressing in City’s youth sides.

Hall became involved with the senior side primarily around 2016 and 2017, when he was regularly named to FFA Cup squads, and later won the Y-League alongside several prominent Academy graduates like Daniel Arzani, Denis Genreau and Connor Metcalfe.

The defender returned to New South Wales ahead of the 2017/18 season, joining the Western Sydney Wanderers’ Y-League setup and didn’t arrive at previous club Green Gully until 2020.

Amidst a heavily COVID-disrupted 2021 season, Hall featured in 17 of the side’s 18 completed games. Considering the small sample size of appearances that he had to perform in, Hall’s recruitment by City is a testament to his performances with the NPL Victoria side.

Photos: Melbourne City FC

In Jordon Hall, City are acquiring a defensive option who very much fits the mould of the A-League Champions’ preferred centre-back. Like Nuno Reis and Curtis Good, Hall is described as a ball-playing central defender, whose passing range and comfort in possession is likely explained by his futsal background as a junior. At 6’2”, Hall also boasts a robust though athletic frame.

Unlike many of City’s other Academy graduates, Hall’s development has required a move away from the club for his talents to be nurtured, but his return to Melbourne speaks highly of his progression since then. Now with several more years of maturity and experience – and an elite coaching team to facilitate further growth – Jordon Hall may prove to be an intelligent but valuable acquisition that confirms the NPL system’s importance to Australia’s top flight.