The 33-year-old is the Bulldogs’ most capped finals player with 19 to his name, which includes the Swans’ 2005 premiership and two losing grand finals.
Midfielder Matthew Boyd said the players had spoken to Hall about his experiences in the lead up to their first final against Collingwood on Saturday night.
“He’s passed on his thoughts and it’s been good to hear from someone who has experienced it and gone all the way and what sorts of things they did leading up to the grand final,” he said.
“It’s good to hear a different perspective from a guy who’s played a different club, just to get a guide as to what they did.”
Coach Rodney Eade agreed Hall’s experience in September was a valuable tool all of his charges - “from Brad Johnson down to the young players” - could use.
“We have a bit of player power and they have some meetings and talks about things like that and I think Barry’s expressed his thoughts, passions and opinions and the players welcome it,” he said.
Eade, who worked with Hall at the Swans for half a season in 2002 before recruiting him to Whitten Oval in a trade deal last year, said the premiership captain had been a sound investment owing to his form and mentoring work this year.
“Barry wants to leave the game on a positive note and I think the way he’s handled himself this year has been exemplary,” he said.
“There’s been a few games where he’s been niggled and targeted and he’s handled that extremely well.”
Boyd said the playing group would ignore the underdog status it had inherited because of injuries and recent form.
“We’re not really taking much notice of that. We’ve got a belief within the group,” he said.
“We know we finished fourth for a reason and you can’t really take too much notice of what people outside the club are saying.”
Eade said the Magpies’ first loss since round 10 on the weekend was not an indication of where they were at.
“When you’re not playing for much and top spot is sewn up, you’re just really playing the season out to a degree,” he said.
“Last week, they probably should have won; they had a lot more scoring shots against a quality team.
“I don’t think their form was too bad, to be honest. If they kick straight, they win by three or four goals and they had a couple of players out.
“They get those players back this week, they’ll be nearly at full strength and finals’ footy is what it’s about.”
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