Hall responded to a one-goal fortnight with five goals from 11 marks in the Bulldogs' victory over the Sydney Swans last week; a performance similar to those that rattled opposition backlines in the NAB Cup competition and from rounds three to five.
"Big Barry played pretty well. There's been a bit of media speculation around his performances lately so he obviously came out and wanted to prove a point," Pratt said from Arden Street on Wednesday.
"I'm sure he'll want to do it again this weekend. Hopefully the boys down back can get on top of him.
"If our defensive structure's right, it shouldn't be an issue. If we let the ball get in there quickly, then it's going to be hard to defend."
With delivery to Hall the primary concern, Pratt is adamant North's midfield can match the Bulldogs' brigade of Adam Cooney, Matthew Boyd, Daniel Cross, Daniel Giansiracusa and Ryan Griffen, who is likely to resume from back tightness.
He said North's four-year dominance of the Dogs, which ended in round 13 last season, had been built on contested football and that the strategy would be revisited.
"If we can win the ball on the inside, that's probably what's got us over the line the last few years. We'll try to do the same again," Pratt said.
"We've got (Jack) Ziebell, (Ben) Cunnington, (Andrew) Swallow, (Ryan) Bastinac, (Brent) Harvey, (Daniel) Wells and guys coming through there ... I reckon our midfield's as good as any in the competition."
Pratt will play his 100th game on Saturday, almost 10 years after he was first recruited by North as a third-round selection in the 2000 national draft.
It was in 2004 and with the Brisbane Lions that Pratt finally made his AFL debut, though he was redrafted by North at the end of that year.
The side's best rebounding defender in 2007 and 2008, the 27-year-old has struggled with form and injuries in the last 18 months but returned for last week's win over Adelaide.
Starting this season in the VFL had allowed him to regain his fitness, to the point where he now felt "like an 18-year-old again".
"It's been a while but it's good to finally get here (to 100 games) and hopefully we can have a win," he said.
Meanwhile, ruckman Hamish McIntosh (shoulder) seems a far better chance of playing this week than key forward David Hale (back).
McIntosh comfortably completed the warm-up of Wednesday's closed training session, however Hale was nowhere to be seen.
