THE LURE of returning to Western Australia was too strong for Fremantle recruit Joel Hamling to turn his back on, with the defender wanting to be closer to his ill father.

Hamling, 23, won a premiership with the Western Bulldogs this year but sought a trade to the Dockers a fortnight after the drought-breaking flag.

"It was a massive decision for me. I didn't take it lightly. I took a few weeks to decide and after the Grand Final, with all the emotion that I had for the team at the Bulldogs, they're such great guys," Hamling said at the club on Tuesday.

"The best thing for my football was to get back home to WA with family and friends as well."

Leaving the Dogs, where Hamling played the final nine games of the season and put together a stellar finals series, was a tough decision for the backman.

"Winning a Grand Final is pretty special and not many players get to do it. The group of lads that I had in the Grand Final, to do it with them and the fairytale that we had, it was really hard," he said.

"The emotional side of things, for me, was massive. I caught up with all my teammates at the Bulldogs and told them I made a decision to come home and they were all accepting of that.

"To an extent. They knew my side, that personal reasons were big for me with my father being ill."

Hamling said he always planned on eventually returning home.

"Freo's a big club as well and I always wanted to get back to WA and play in WA," he said.

Reuniting with former Geelong forward Shane Kersten was another draw card for Hamling. The two are close friends, with Hamling also having started his career at the Cats.

Kersten was traded to the Dockers for No.63 in this year's NAB AFL Draft.

"I've known Shane for a while. We grew up together, we've played together, lived together, done everything together," Hamling said.

"I'm really close with him and I've got a locker next to Shane. We're like brothers."