BULLDOGS ruckman Ben Hudson says he would be happy to have Barry Hall as a teammate next year.

Hall has been strongly linked to the Bulldogs since retiring from the Sydney Swans mid-season and Hudson said he would be happy to be lining up alongside him in a Bulldogs jumper.

“He is a great player and a big body,” Hudson said. “I think Murph (Robert Murphy) said during the week it would make people stand taller if he was on your side.”

Hudson said Hall had not been a hot topic of discussion among the players at Whitten Oval.

“That decision will be made at the end of the year if Barry still wants to play,” he said.

“No doubt he’s probably on holiday somewhere in a nice warm spot having a few cocktails. Football’s probably the last of his ideas at the moment. That is an issue that will be discussed. It certainly won’t be decided by the players.”

The Bulldogs are coming up against the undefeated St Kilda this week.

Hudson said the game would be a good test but stopped short of agreeing with St Kilda coach Ross Lyon that the Bulldogs were the favourites.

“If you can knock off any team that hasn’t been beaten all year it is a good thing,” he said.

“I don’t know if we can go in favourites, they are undefeated. We’ve lost five games but if we can get it, it would be a great scalp going in to the end of the year.”

The match will be Farren Ray’s second game against his old side since he was traded from the Bulldogs at the end of last year.

Hudson said he saw plenty of signs that Ray could be a quality footballer while the two were teammates last year.

“In the year I was there he [Ray] showed things on the track and in games. He was given the opportunity at St Kilda and good luck to him,” he said.