Barry Hall's temper is again threatening to disrupt a finals campaign after the Western Bulldogs forward landed a punch to the chest-throat area of Collingwood's Harry O'Brien.

Collingwood thumped the Bulldogs by 62 points in Saturday night's AFL qualifying final but Hall did some thumping of his own, engaging in several heated clashes with O'Brien.

Hall, who was booked for using abusive language towards an umpire which could result in a fine, will face scrutiny from the Match Review Panel over an incident in the second quarter in which the fiery forward threw a left jab at O'Brien.

The key question is going to be whether it was with enough force to constitute a strike.

The Bulldogs are already battling injuries to key players including hobbling skipper Brad Johnson (Achilles) and can't afford to be without their 75-goal spearhead for next Saturday night's knockout semi-final at the MCG.

O'Brien, who flattened Hall with a strong bump in the second quarter, said the minor premiers had made a point of using "physicality" in 2010 and the Bulldogs had tried to fight back.

"One of the biggest strengths for us, for Collingwood Football Club, is that we've been able to assert our physicality on other teams," O'Brien told Channel Seven on Sunday.

"I think that was just a tactic by the Bulldogs to meet that head-on in a final."

Asked to clarify if he was punched in the chest or throat, which could be a crucial issue for Hall, O'Brien said he couldn't remember.

Under AFL rules, high contact is defined as above the shoulders, meaning if the contact is deemed as to the throat it carries a higher points rating than to the chest.

"He was just asking for some tips on how to get started with twitter," O'Brien joked.

"I said it would suit him because you only have to use 120 characters, I don't think he appreciated it."

Hall was a premiership co-captain for Sydney in 2005, crossing to the Bulldogs in 2010 after a series of anger-management issues including a two-game ban in June last year for a hit on Adelaide's Ben Rutten.

The veteran hard man has missed a total of 26 games through suspension including seven matches for striking West Coast's Brent Staker in 2008.

Those incidents could come back to haunt him, as, if he is charged with striking, any penalty will be increased by 50 per cent because of his previous suspensions.

Triple All-Australian Hall almost missed Sydney's grand final win because of a punch to the stomach of St Kilda's Matt Maguire in the 2005 preliminary final.

Hall received a reprimand after pleading guilty to striking Maguire, but successfully arguing the incident took place "in play" rather than "behind play".

The Bulldogs, with or without Hall, will face the winner of Sunday's Sydney-Carlton elimination final in next Saturday night's semi-final.

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