All the Bulldogs have to do to land Hall is find a suitable trade with his former club, the Sydney Swans.
It is unknown whether the Swans will request a player in exchange for the burly forward, although the deal – which will most likely involve a later-round draft pick – is unlikely to cost the Bulldogs much after the goalkicker and the Swans agreed to part ways mid-season.
Bulldogs football manager James Fantasia said his club would talk with the Swans in the coming days to try to work out an agreement.
“There remain a number of issues the parties involved need to work through, however the Western Bulldogs remain hopeful an agreement can be reached,” Fantasia said on Thursday.
Hall met with the Bulldogs in recent days and those meetings reached fruition on Wednesday night when the 32-year-old’s management informed the beaten preliminary finalists he wished to join the club.
For many, the deal will complete the Bulldogs’ player puzzle.
The Dogs have fallen one step short of a grand final berth the past two seasons – losing to Geelong in 2008 and even more narrowly to St Kilda last Friday.
Most pundits think Rodney Eade’s lack of a tall forward has cost them dearly in September.
Speaking after last week’s heartbreaking loss to the Saints, the Bulldogs coach disputed that and raised his team’s high number of inside-50s as evidence to back his view.
However he did suggest he would have liked a tall target.
“Everyone says … [you need a] tall forward,” Eade said after the seven-point loss.
“Obviously you’d love to have one, but you’re not going to have one just for the sake of having it.”
