Western Bulldogs coach Paul Williams says the AFL club are still giving their all to persuade young gun midfielder Callan Ward to stay.

Ward is considered likely to accept a huge five-year deal to join Greater Western Sydney, with even sacked Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade tipping last week the 21-year-old would take it.

The Bulldogs on Wednesday announced eight young players had re-signed, while veterans Ben Hudson and Mitch Hahn will retire at season's end.

The group to recommit are Easton Wood, Liam Picken, Tom Williams, Jarrad Grant, Jayden Schofield, Jason Tutt and father-son recruits Tom Liberatore and Mitch Wallis.

Ward is the notable absentee but Williams said the Dogs would not give up on keeping the budding star.

"We have to be confident, we'll pitch to him and his management as good as we possibly can," Williams told reporters.

"He is a local boy, only born and bred around the corner, so we're not going to allow him to go lightly, as everyone could imagine.

"We want Callan Ward at our footy club, he's a future leader ... we'll do everything we can to keep him."

The retirements of Hudson, 32, and Hahn, 30, were no surprise.

Hudson has played 142 AFL games, 55 with Adelaide before joining the Dogs, but was not selected against Port Adelaide on Sunday and will again be overlooked against Hawthorn this weekend, before being given a final round farewell game against Fremantle.

Hahn, who played 180 games, has not played an AFL match all season after being demoted to the rookie list at the end of last year.

Hudson's exit puts pressure on inexperienced pair Ayce Cordy and Jordan Roughead to help Will Minson fill the ruck void.

But Williams said the substitute rule introduced this season and which he expected to stay for next year, had reduced the importance of two genuine ruckmen.

"The second bona fide ruckman is sort of not needed, so our stocks are okay in that area," he said.

Of more immediate concern is how the Bulldogs' injury-gutted defence will handle Hawthorn star Lance Franklin and his forward line colleagues at the MCG on Saturday.

The Dogs are missing their three standout options for Franklin - Brian Lake (knee), Tom Williams (foot) and Dale Morris (leg).

But Williams was confident they could manufacture ways to restrict the in-form Hawk.

"We've got to get creative," he said.

"We're down a lot of foot soldiers, especially tall ones in our back half.

"So we'll look at a few options, some a bit different, but we'll exhaust every option."

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