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There wasn’t much fanfare for Bailey Dale when he reached his 25th birthday on Thursday.

He had baked a cake with his girlfriend, Erin Meade, who plays footy with Williamstown, and he imagined he’d probably spend the rest of the day chilling in front of the television as lockdown limited their options.

Not that it fazed Dale too much as the low-key, low-maintenance Western Bulldog prepared for another top-of-the-table clash against Melbourne in front of no crowds on the weekend.

This time around Dale is hoping for a different result after the Demons jumped the Bulldogs in round 11, stifling their ball movement to such an extent that the margin didn’t drop below 18 points from late in the first quarter, with Melbourne eventually winning comfortably by 28 points.

Dale admits a few early turnovers had the Bulldogs uncharacteristically rattled early with the mistakes snowballing as Melbourne kicked six goals to two in the first quarter.

“The game was on their terms and we will be looking to use the ball a lot better than what we did ... it’s obvious they will bring the heat again,” Dale said.

Dale is one of those ball users Melbourne will want to limit as he has a penetrating kick that travels like a stinger golf shot, low and fast and on target.

One of the most improved players in the AFL this season, he’s displayed his speed and kicking skills in defence to such a high standard he is in line for All-Australian selection at the end of the season.

The lean operator with a face like the comic book character Tintin appears settled there, having started his career in 2015 on the wing before moving forward around 2017 and then being called upon to go back this season.

“It has been a real, refreshing sort of change ... to see the play and to set up other guys from behind the footy,” Dale said.

“It has been good to get a little bit more of the ball and get involved in the game a little more. As a forward you can really have your patches where you are highly involved and then you probably don’t see the ball as much but being down back you are involved a lot more and you can get a lot more reward.”

Dale is also tougher than his frame would suggest, having played in a senior premiership for Edithvale Aspendale in 2013 when he was just 16.

The Eagles - a club that spawned the Healy brothers, Gerard (who referred to him as Daley Bale in commentary) and Greg, Stan Alves, Michael Moncrieff and Dylan Shiel among others - had finished bottom in 2012 but went on a winning streak in the 2013 akin to the Bulldogs’ drought-breaking 2016 finals run.

They won the Peninsula League premiership by winning four consecutive finals including the preliminary final in extra time and the grand final after being five goals down at three-quarter-time.

Dale, who had been crook the night before the grand final, kicked a goal in the grand final and was among the best in the preliminary final.

“That’s a long time ago now but that was such an awesome start to my career in some ways, being able to play in a premiership so young and get to play senior football,” Dale said.

The thrill was shared as his father Rod and uncle Craig “Butch” Dale were great players at the club in the late ’80s and ’90s with Rod a stoic defender and Craig kicking 103 goals in 1994, his bulky frame allowing him to play anywhere.

Dale’s fondness for the pair is obvious as he has a chuckle about the tips they have handed out along the way.

“They have been massive in my football journey and they were obviously not too bad players back in the day. Dad used to play in the back line so he is trying to give me some tips now and when I was playing in the forward line Craig was trying to tell me how to kick goals. I’m getting advice from everywhere,” Dale laughed.

It’s easy to sense his grounded approach comes from those who surround him, with his mum Michelle and aunty Julie - known as cook at Edithvale-Aspendale for her Thursday night meals - also well regarded at the club where his brother Harley still plays.

“I love the Edi-Asp football club. It has been a second home almost growing up with my dad and my uncle playing there,” Dale said.

But his main focus is becoming part of a premiership team at the Western Bulldogs, having been a 14-game player as he watched the Bulldogs defeat Sydney from the sidelines in 2016.

Dale says there is a similar vibe at the club as there was then although the playing group has changed considerably with the 25-year-old among the next generation now.

The next step on the journey happens on Saturday with Dale well aware of what is at stake.

“We obviously think we are a good chance of going all the way ... but we also know it is so tight at the top of the ladder at the moment and week to week if you drop one game you can slip all the way out of the four,” he said.