THE WESTERN Bulldogs have upped the ante in their negotiations with the Sydney Swans over Barry Hall, with the club declaring it will take its chances in the pre-season draft if a suitable trade cannot be agreed upon.

Hall, 32, has declared his intention to join the Bulldogs after retiring from the Swans following his suspension for striking Adelaide defender Ben Rutten in round 13.

The trade was seen as a formality given the Swans' earlier undertaking to ease the way for Hall to get to the club of his choice should he attempt to re-ignite his 250-game career.

However, talks between the two parties have ground to a halt with the Swans' insistence on a second-round draft pick the sticking point.

"We're not anywhere at the moment to be honest. There's a Mexican standoff and that's fine," Bulldogs football manager James Fantasia replied when asked about the status of negotiations.

"It's not an issue for us. They're not going to get him playing for them next year, they didn't have him [this year] and he's genuinely prepared to go to the draft.   

"The big issue for us is Barry is prepared to go to the draft. I'm not sure how much interest there is from other clubs, and he's made it very clear that he wants to play at the Western Bulldogs.

"We are the club of his choice and we'd love to get him, there's not issue about that, but it might need to be a pre-season draft situation."

Hall, a premiership player and well-liked figure at the Swans, had operated under the belief that his former club would not stand in his way despite the souring of their relationship following his last on-field indiscretion.

Their determination to secure such a high draft pick at the coming NAB AFL Draft has come out of the blue according to Fantasia who laid his cards on the table in terms of how high his club is willing to go to secure Hall's service.

"I am a bit surprised to be up front. I'm surprised they didn't ask for a first-round draft pick," he said.

"I think even a second-round draft pick is a little bit rich and a little bit cheeky to be honest. But at the same time I respect their position on it and they need to respect ours.

"We won't be trading anywhere near that level, but what we would do is we'd do it tomorrow for a pick in round four.

"You've got to stick with what you think is right and if it doesn't work well we'll just keep moving."

Fantasia said there were also financial considerations to bear in mind in bringing Hall in. Scott Welsh's retirement has gone some way to easing the salary cap burden on the talent-laden Dogs, but Fantasia said decisions on fellow veterans Jason Akermanis and Nathan Eagleton would not be made until after trade week.