Hall nailed four in the first term alone to set up the 1.15.12 (111) to 0.7.12 (54) win that puts the Dogs through to meet either West Coast or Port Adelaide in a NAB Cup semi final next Friday night.
The Dogs, missing Brad Johnson and Will Minson, increased their lead at every change against a sometimes sloppy Hawthorn outfit.
Hall was the game's major talking point with supporters vocal every time he neared the ball.
He marked strongly - overhead, on the lead and in contested situations - and kicked goals from a range of positions.
Wearing the number 28 most recently donned by Scott Welsh, the 33-year-old traumatised the Hawks' defence in the first quarter and went through three opponents by the break.
Ryan Schoenmakers and Campbell Brown tried to curb the former Sydney Swan after Josh Gibson was moved off him after 13 minutes and three goals.
By half time, Hall had six possessions, three marks (two contested) and five goals to his name.
He added one more major in the third before being subbed off for Brennan Stack.
Assistant coach Paul Williams said Hall had "ticked every box" in his debut match and was a crucial part of the Dogs' maintained pressure.
"His first quarter was very, very good and the delivery to him was exceptional," he said.
"The pressure he did was one of the most pleasing things. The forward line pressure all around, not just Barry, made it very hard for Hawthorn to exit that part of the ground."
Overall, acting captain Matthew Boyd was strong for the Dogs with 30 touches, Adam Cooney was classy and Jordan Roughead played a good game in and around the ruck.
Hawks skipper Sam Mitchell worked hard while rookies Carl Peterson and Jarrod Kayler-Thomson were impressive.
As for the game, the Dogs were always in control. They outclassed the Hawks in the first with smooth movement from defence and dominated the ruck with the Simon Taylor-Sam Grimley combination failing to win a single hit-out in that quarter.
Their quarter-time lead of 22 points increased to just 24 at the main break after Mitchell, Jordan Lewis and Grant Birchall got moving for the Hawks.
In the third, some sloppy play in Hawthorn's defence saw the Dogs snare a pair of goals from turnovers. Ultimately, they piled on seven goals to two for the term.
The Bulldogs' sustained pressure was a main component of the win with the tackle count heavily weighing their favour, 82 to 49.
"That was the biggest thing I've taken out of the game and we were very pleased with that," Williams said.
"That aspect is very important and it's something we've worked on over the past few years."
The Hawks, who were missing Cyril Rioli, Chance Bateman, Shaun Burgoyne, Michael Osborne, Tom Murphy, Brent Guerra, Stephen Gilham and Rhan Hooper, now enter the NAB Challenge series.
Coach Alastair Clarkson wasn't too concerned with the loss and said round one remained the club’s priority.
"They had nearly their best squad on the park and they moved the ball swiftly. They showed with Hall in the side, they've got that focal point they've been searching for," he said.
"We've exposed a lot of young lads to the level over the past few games we've played.
"For our young lads to get that exposure against a pretty tidy outfit is first class."
Rioli won't play until at least the final round of the pre-season but the other missing players could figure as early as next week.
Hawthorn 0.1.5 0.4.7 0.6.8 0.7.12 (54)
Western Bulldogs 0.5.3 0.8.7 0.15.9 1.15.12 (111)
GOALS
Hawthorn: Nine-point goals: Nil Goals: Roughead 2, Morton 2, Breust, Hodge, Franklin
Western Bulldogs: Nine-point goals: Boyd Goals: Hall 6, Hill 2, Murphy 2, Moles, Giansiracusa, Cross, Cooney, Higgins
BEST
Hawthorn: Mitchell, Lewis, Moss, Peterson, Sewell, Kayler-Thomson
Western Bulldogs: Cooney, Hall, Boyd, Akermanis, Griffen, Lake, Roughead, Cross
INJURIES
Hawthorn: Nil
Western Bulldogs: Harbrow (shin)
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Stevic, Jeffery, Pannell
Official crowd: 17,222 at Etihad Stadium
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
