Congratulations to Luke Dahlhaus - 100 games this week.

[ratsmac]

Congrats Dahl on an amazing 100 games.

He often sets the tone for applying pressure on the opposition. Always gives 110% and often turns a situation where we all out of position, but he manages to lay a great tackle and get the turn over and turn it into a score our way.

Lots of love for Dahl!

[KT31]

Congrats to Dahl, hope he has a blinder.

[bornadog]

Luke Dahlhaus reaches 100 games but still living on the edge after draft disappointment


LUKE DAHLHAUS will never forget the tears of rejection.
It was draft night in November 2011 and he had been warned.
His manager Peter Lenton had told him not to expect too much but the young Geelong Falcons goalsneak couldn’t help it.

“I was just watching it at home on Foxtel and I didn’t ask anyone over because I was only hopeful it could happen,’’ Dahlhaus said.
“Peter said if you get picked up St Kilda will probably take you around the 40 mark.
“As soon as it went past that pick my heart sunk and I knew from there no one else would take me


“It was pretty disappointing. I went into the shower after that and just had a couple of tears. It was a pretty sad night.”
Two days later he would be invited by Geelong’s Stephen Wells to train with the Cats ahead of the rookie draft.



Wayne Ludbey Out of the blue the Western Bulldogs swooped at pick No.22 in the rookie draft, with Geelong taking forward Josh Walker with the next selection.

Friday night at Etihad Stadium the 23-year-old will celebrate 100 games, having raced to triple figures in just over five seasons.

That’s the way I like it — I don’t like the limelight.

Luke Dahlhaus

And yet if Dahlhaus is one of the emerging stars of the game — ranked the AFL’s second-best mid-forward — the sense of living on the edge has never left him.
Just as teammates Dale Morris and Matthew Boyd carved out careers of significance from the rookie list, Dahlhaus believes it taught him hunger and desire.
“It’s funny that rookies aren’t the blokes who are the most skilful or polished footballers — they are the ones who do the one-percenters and just try to get the ball,’’ he says.

“I think when you are that sort of players, it is do or die. That is the sort of attitude I have. Speaking to Moz (Morris) and Boydy, you go in with that attitude.”
Dahlhaus still isn’t sure whether Geelong would have taken him with its next selection in that rookie draft.
“I know it was me and Josh Walker and Jon Simpkin who were all going for the same spot,” he said.

“I am not sure how Wellsy saw me in the end. I will never know if they had me slotted in but I didn’t have much else in terms of interest.
“I had a phone call from the Kangaroos and Hawks but that’s all they were and then my name popped up on the computer. I was so happy to get a foot in the door.”
Remarkably, as Dahlhaus’s game has become more rounded his profile has slowly been pushed back into the shadows.
He burst onto the scene with a shock of dreadlocks and an electric style of play, tackling and chasing so well the comparisons with Gary Ablett Jr flowed.
Back then he was the beacon of hope for the talent-starved Dogs, but slowly Marcus Bontempelli, Jake Stringer and Jack Macrae have put their names up in lights.
Not that Dahlhaus is perturbed. “That’s the way I like it — I don’t like the limelight,” he said.
“It doesn’t show with the haircut I had, but I like to fly under the radar and do my role. That’s what has got me to 100 games, playing my role every week.

In last year’s final against the Crows only Lachie Hunter won more of the ball than Dahlhaus (27 possessions).
Although don’t get him started about his fear of birds, a trait his teammates will freely share.
“I am pretty upset that’s got out. Yeah, I am terrified,’’ he admits.
“As a young kid we used to go and chase magpies in Leopold and one got spooked pretty badly.“It wouldn’t leave me alone for about 1km and ever since then I have been petrified.
“Something about them scares me and Jake Stringer taped a dead bird into my locker not that long ago.
“I got the biggest fright of my life. By my reaction he won’t do it again because I nearly fainted.”

“Blokes like Bonty and Stringer and Caleb Daniel can take the limelight. They are absolute superstars and I love playing with them.”
The blue collar streak has him living a quiet life in Williamstown, working on a carpentry apprenticeship and surfing with mates down the coast.

This year his stats as usual are peerless, even if he has added even more midfield time to his game.
As a mid-forward he ranks second behind only Brisbane’s Dayne Zorko in rankings points, is first in the league for groundball gets, third for clearances, tackles and score involvements and fifth for disposals.



On Friday night the miserly Dogs, conceding just 56.6 points per game, run into the freewheeling Kangaroos.
Only St Kilda (52.6 points per game in the first five rounds of 2009) have conceded less points since Carlton in 1967.
Dahlhaus says the Dogs’ remarkable ability to share the load will help them combat the Roos.
“This year I have been in there about 10 per cent more. You basically start as a forward or mid and swap every five or six minutes,’’ he said.
“Having fresh legs in the middle of the ground, it is a mentality that drives the team and helps ball movement and defence.



“That is a pretty surprising stat (about our defence) but we are attacking so well that we defend even better.
“It you attack well it’s in your forward 50m and then it’s easier to defend. If you have shots at goal you might kick some points but it’s harder for teams to attack from their defensive 50.”
Re-signed last year until 2018, Dahlhaus will never forget where he came from or who gave him that first chance
“I don’t think twice when it comes to contracts to stay at the club,’’ he said
“If it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t be playing footy for a living. You can tell by all the boys signing up, everyone is excited and everyone wants to be on the ride.”

LUKE AWAY NOW

Ranking Points: 109 (2nd)
Disposals: 23.8 (5th)
Contested Possessions: 12.2 (3rd)
Ground ball-gets: 9.4 (1st)
Clearances: 5.0 (3rd)
Score Involvements: 7.0 (3rd)​
Pressure Points: 46.0 (6th)
Tackles: 6.4 (3rd)
Source: Champion Data

[Daughter of the West]

Who's house? Dahlhaus!

Congratulations on 100 excellent games, may there be 200 more!

[Murphy'sLore]

So this means we get any future little Dahlhauses? Can't wait!
Congratulations Luke, and may you play many more.

[kruder]

I still remember him coming on as a sub against stkilda in his first game. He just gave us that little ray of hope that one day we will be back to where we are now. From the outside he looks like a popular character and players that try as hard as he does usually are. We are undermanned tonight but I reckon the boys will put in that little bit of extra Dahl effort and get over the line.