Ryan Hall: The man behind Super League's record tryscorer in his own words

Hall has the brains to match his brawn, a combination that left him at a crossroads when he was offered an academy trial by the Rhinos.

The Leeds native opted for rugby league over a maths degree and the rest is history.

A six-time Super League Grand Final winner with his hometown club, Hall recently returned to Headingley for one final swansong – or so it seemed.

There was a finality to the statement that confirmed Hall's homecoming earlier this year but a numbers man, the 37-year-old is struggling with the idea of being left stuck on 19 seasons as a professional.

Whether it is imparnumerophobia – a fear of odd numbers – or the fierce competitor in him, Hall is determined to trigger the option in his contract to make it a round 20.

"It's not a 'maybe' for me," he tells The Yorkshire Post. "I'd love to be able to do that.

"It's like when you sit in front of your TV and turn the volume up because it's on 17. It's got to be an even number or any multiple of five.

"It's the same with me. This is year 19 for me and I cannot finish on year 19. It's just ridiculous and wouldn't sit right. I've got to make it to 20.

"The club have got to be happy with what I'm producing on the field so I've got to make sure my standards are high."

The early signs are positive for Hall following a ringing endorsement by Leeds head coach Brad Arthur.

If Hall is "training like a 20-year-old" in the depths of winter, there may yet be another chapter to write in his storied career.

Hall's life may have played out differently had John Bastian not taken a trip down to Oulton Raiders to check out a promising youngster.

"I was enrolled to do a pure maths degree at Leeds University," he recalls.

"If you'd asked me back then what I wanted to be, I'd say I didn't know but knew that getting a maths degree could open a few doors. I would have gone through a door somewhere and carried on down that corridor.

"People have always said I could go back and do that if I wanted to but I'm not sure if I could. Doing what I've done for the last 20 years, I've been kicked in the head a few times and lost a few brain cells.

"I'd like to think I had every chance to do something else just as well. I had a couple of things going for me but chose rugby as my primary target."

After breaking the Super League and England tryscoring records, it is fair to say Hall has nailed it.

The winger has shown there is not one set recipe for success.

Whereas rugby can become an obsession for some players, Hall can easily switch off – and, crucially, back on.

"I try not to think about rugby all the time," he says.

"I've tried to explain to trainers about getting ready for games. Normally it's an eight o'clock kick-off on a Friday night and players have to get there at half past six so we can get in the changing room and get prepared.

"I just see it as one hour, 25 minutes too long. I'd rather turn up at five minutes to eight, get my boots on, roll my shoulders and off I go – I don't need to think about it too much.

"Maybe that's something I've learnt over the years. I might not have thought that in year one but I certainly feel like that now."

The ultimate workhorse out of backfield, Hall has evolved with the sport.

He has had to change off the field, too, with his previous hobbies – mastering musical instruments and showing off his skills with a Rubik's Cube – replaced by parental duties.

"I've got my kids' timetable for dad's taxi so I don't have much time to do what I want," says the father of two.

"It's funny because I car share with Cam Smith, Alfie Edgell and Max Simpson and we had this conversation the other day. Cam burst out laughing when I told him that I don't even know what I enjoy doing anymore.

"If I sit down and ask myself what I want to do, I wouldn't even know. I just get home and the kids come first."

Once his son and daughter are in bed, Hall's mind switches to his role as a director of QDeck, a company that provides safety solutions in the construction industry.

"That's ticking along," he adds.

"I've got my department that I've got to head up. It's all the numbers side of things.

"I can do all my stuff for the following day so I'm not needed between the hours of nine and five, which is quite helpful because I can do it on a night time. A lot of my time is taken up by that."

Once the time comes to hang up his boots, Hall will find himself at a crossroads again.

He must decide whether the office life is for him through a role in Leeds' commercial department or whether there is a future in coaching after an eye-opening experience at Sydney Roosters.

"It gave me a new perspective on things," says Hall.

"Throughout my time at Leeds, I'd been asked if I wanted to be a coach and had always said no.

"But within the two years that I was under Trent Robinson and his approach to things, I changed that answer quite dramatically to yes. I could definitely see myself being a coach now.

"I don't want to be derogatory to any of my coaches at Leeds because I thought the world of Tony Smith, Brian McClennan and Brian McDermott – but Trent had a different way of doing things and I liked it.

"You don't always have to do things the same way. My eyes opened when I went into that environment."

Intriguingly, there is an option in Hall's contract that could see him move straight into coaching.

"There's something ambiguous about a coaching role but you don't know how good I'll be at transitioning," he adds.

"I'll dip my toe in to see how I take to it and whether I like it or not. They don't want to tie me down to something I hate doing from day one.

"There's an opportunity in my contract to express myself in coaching."

Luke Gale is an example of a player who got a feel for coaching before he retired by helping out in Wakefield Trinity's academy once he had completed his first-team commitments for the day, leading to a head coach role.

True to form, though, Hall does not want to take his eye off the ball.

"Some people have done that but it's the same philosophy as my studies – when I chose to play rugby over doing that maths degree, I wanted to do it 100 per cent," he says.

"I don't think I'd get the best out of me as a player if I coached as well. I've got other stuff going on with my kids and coaches spend all hours doing what they do.

"I've got to get a decent balance there. If I started doing that, it'd creep over into the unhealthy side."

For now, the focus is on helping to restore the Rhinos' fortunes at the coalface.

Leeds failed to add another Super League title in Hall's six-year absence but the veteran sees potential in the modern-day Rhinos.

"I had a good old dig there at Hull KR, certainly in the last two years when we had a genuine chance to win things," says Hall, who suffered his first Old Trafford defeat with the Robins in October.

"We were in touching distance there. I'm more than a bit gutted that I've got a blemish on there because it was a perfect record until then. We'll put it down to a learning experience.

"I still want to win something. When Leeds came to me offering me an opportunity to play and plan for the future off the field, I had to take all that into consideration.

"Leeds have underperformed the last couple of years and I don't think I'm insulting anyone by saying that.

"Leeds will be good again and it'd be great to play a part in the turnaround."

Hall's second spell at Headingley will begin in earnest on Boxing Day when the Rhinos host Wakefield in the annual friendly between the West Yorkshire neighbours.

Whether it is one year or two, Hall plans to embrace every moment – even the warm-ups.

"I'll miss everything when I finish," he says. "But let's not talk about that yet.

"I'm not missing anything yet because I'm still doing it and don't want to stop."