[14] At the conclusion of the season, Hall was named as back pocket in the Tasmanian side and as the North Hobart player with the most potential.
Hall began training with Australian Football League (AFL) side Essendon in December 2000 in the hope of being drafted.
Essendon had been plagued by injury throughout 2002 and this, coupled with Hall's good form in the VFL, resulted in him making his AFL debut in round 12 against Hawthorn.
[27] Despite showing good form in the VFL for the remainder of 2002,[28][29][30] Hall was unable to break back into the senior Bombers line-up.
[34] After spending the majority of his career prior to 2003 as a defender, Hall was trialled as a midfielder for the 2003 season, a move which reaped immediate results as he became a "goalscoring weapon" for the Bendigo Bombers—Essendon's new VFL-affiliate side[35]—as well as becoming known for his penetrating kicking.
[40] Despite not playing a senior match for the entirety of the regular season, there was media speculation that Hall may be selected for Essendon's elimination final against Fremantle, due to Sheedy stating that he had "little choice" but to select a youthful team for the match and that "it wouldn't worry [him]" to choose an inexperienced player.
Although he regularly pushed for selection in 2003 and finished equal second in Bendigo's best and fairest count,[43][44] Hall was delisted by Essendon at season's end.
[45] After being delisted by the Bombers, Hall was pursued by multiple clubs; he had offers from VFL sides Coburg, the Tasmanian Devils, Williamstown and Bendigo, as well as South Australian National Football League (SANFL) club West Adelaide, before deciding to sign with Devils because he wanted to come home to family and friends.
[48] In June he was named in the VFL representative squad to play against the West Australian Football League, but he missed out on the match due to a hip flexor injury that sidelined him for a month.
[61][62] After 134 matches and 109 goals in the VFL, Hall left the Devils at the end of the 2007 season, citing work and family reasons—his wife Lauren was expecting their first child in December 2007.
In his first year with the club Hall won the George Miller Medal, awarded to North Hobart's best and fairest player for the season.
[69] Hall had another good season in 2010; he won his second George Miller Medal,[64] and was described by his coach as one of the league's five best players and the "best tackler in the competition".
[70] Despite carrying a nagging ankle injury, Hall started the 2011 season well, with The Mercury's Brett Stubbs writing that he was arguably the second best player in the league.
[71] He missed five weeks during the middle of the season and, although he was named best on ground in his comeback match, Hall said that another injury would probably be the end of his career.