Luke Dahlhaus opens up on Shaun Grigg joining the Cats, Chris Scott’s relationship with players and his off-season

Shaun Grigg was never afraid to let his mouth run wild against the Cats. So what happened when the premiership Tiger fronted up as a member of the Geelong coaching staff? Luke Dahlhaus opens up on that, Chris Scott, mental health and more.

Luke Dahlhaus is loving life at the Cats. Picture: Michael Klein

Shaun Grigg has never been afraid to tell Geelong’s star-studded list exactly what he thinks of them.

That frank feedback once came in the form of biting sledges and witty asides when Grigg was a Richmond midfielder.

But this summer’s criticism has been refreshingly expletive-free and constructive as Grigg dishes out advice while he wears a Geelong polo shirt.

For Luke Dahlhaus, Grigg’s tactical tweaks as a Geelong development coach — courtesy of a footy brain overflowing with information about Richmond’s run-and-gun playing style — is particularly relevant.

Geelong was often so stodgy with the ball last year that in a loss to Fremantle, the Cats played-on just nine per cent of the time.

For a player such as ex-Dog Dahlhaus, the more times Geelong gets the ball inside its 50m arc the more he can go to work making a “pest” of himself.

Footy pundits will spend the early rounds analysing Geelong’s ball movement and its capacity to successfully play three tall forwards — Tom Hawkins, Esava Ratugolea and Josh Jenkins.

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Shaun Grigg in his new colours at the Cats. Picture: Alison Wynd

Most relevant to this could be how the Cats tap into Grigg’s experience of pyrotechnic ball movement under Damien Hardwick.

“We are trying a few things that maybe we haven’t in the past,” Dahlhaus said this week.

“Not to go into too much technical stuff, but it’s trying to get the ball in as quick as possible to the forwards so we can go to work.

“It hasn’t been a massive change, but if there is a slight tweak it might be more adventurous ball movement.

“We have had Shaun Grigg come in and speak pretty highly about that, but to be honest it’s a tweak.

“Grigg is a ripping bloke. I didn’t know much about him, I only knew he was a good player but he gave a bit of stick to the blokes on the park when we played him. But he is one of the boys and gets around everyone really well and has brought in some fresh ideas.”

Dahlhaus missed last week’s Marsh Community Series opener courtesy of a slight groin strain but could scarcely have had a better first season at the Cats.

His accuracy rate is an RFI — room for improvement — after 14.16 in 2019. But his 115 tackles and 433 touches playing purely half-forward were a return to the defensive DNA of his best years at the Western Bulldogs.

“It’s amazing what a change can do for your mind,” the 27-year-old premiership Dog said after he crossed from the Whitten Oval on a four-year free agency offer.

“I got back to loving it and what helped was keeping everything simple. Just go back to what I do best and that is pressuring the opposition and being a pest inside forward-50. To be honest, it did wonders for me.”

Only months after arriving at Kardinia Park, Dahlhaus revealed to the Herald Sun his battle with anxiety that was so extreme in 2018 he had hoped he might get injured so he didn’t have to take the field.

It was raw and compelling, so much that Dahlhaus is thankful his honesty and work with psychologists at the Bulldogs and Geelong helped him navigate a path to improved mental health.

“I feel like I have come out of the other side of it really well, so I am feeling really positive,” he said.

“I didn’t have many negative comments towards me. If I look back I was a little too honest in saying I didn’t want to play footy at times, but I wanted to get across the mental health side of things in footy. It’s real and I know there are so many cases at the moment and I wanted to get across that it’s not all happy days as a footballer.

“You can get really low and I have been to the lowest point in my life at times, and I wanted to get that across.”

The shift closer to home has brought about a host of measures to help that mental health for a former surfgrom from Leopold whose parents have moved to Anglesea.

He tries to surf as much as he can with mates like Lukas Webb, Lachie Henderson and James Parsons, although favourite surf spot 13th Beach hasn’t pumped for several weeks.

Luke Dahlhaus has been very happy since joining the Cats. Picture: Michael Klein

Dahlhaus also golfs among the kangaroos at Anglesea and recently carved out a handy 92 when Tom Hawkins got him on to the members’ course 13th Beach that is only a few driver lengths from those famed surf breaks.

He is home from training in five minutes and admitted it was lunacy to live 45 minutes across the other side of town and fight traffic while a Dogs star.

Dahlhaus has heard the criticism of coach Chris Scott — that he is not as hands-on as some senior coaches or as determined to learn about every aspect of his players’ personal lives.

What Dahlhaus says that ignores is Scott’s mature approach of treating his players like adults who can have lives away from the confines of the football club.

“I just think he is all about the players and footy club as well. He always takes blame if things go wrong and I just think ever since I have come in, I notice how well he looks after us,” Dahlhaus said after an excellent debut season for the Cats that came with a sixth-placed best-and-fairest finish.

“Things like giving us days off here and there, more than other clubs, he lets us live our life away from the club, be relaxed and full of happiness, so when we come in and play we do it with a clear mind. It’s why Geelong has done so well because Scotty has been like that through his whole coaching career.

“He might not get around us as much as someone else, but he lets blokes like Nigel Lappin run most of the pre-season sessions and that’s refreshing for us.”

The added bonus of Dahlhaus’s move is that he hasn’t had to sacrifice friendships with his Dogs buddies to be closer to family.

Last Saturday in Caulfield’s Blue Diamond Stakes he watched on while his horse Rathlin went around in a syndicate that includes Lachie Hunter, Marcus Bontempelli, Lin Jong, Josh Dunkley, Jackson Trengove and Lukas Webb.

“I don’t know much about it all, I just give over my cash and say turn it into a lot more cash,” he joked.

His mate Webb was delisted by the Bulldogs after a horror injury stretch that included a fractured neck in 2018 which forced him into a neck brace for months.

He is still battling for a Blues list spot as a train-on player but a recent hamstring injury has heightened his challenge.

They travelled through Europe together that off-season, Dahlhaus agreeing that his mate’s plight has franked his decision to accept the long-term security of Geelong’s four-year deal.

“To be honest he has been through the absolute ringer in the last two years and I am in constant talks with him about it,” Dahlhaus said.

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“Hopefully he gets a crack, he really deserves it. He has had some really weird injuries and it does put it into perspective. It was the biggest reason seeing blokes go in and out of footy clubs probably earlier than they should and I wanted that extra year of security until I was 30. I was happy with the decision in the end.

“We went away and he only wanted to go to places which were cold so he could wear a scarf (over his brace). He did take the piss out of himself a bit, but he’s a ripper fella. I remember him as an 18-year-old, his foot skills were unbelievable so you just hope he gets a crack.”

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Originally published as Luke Dahlhaus opens up on Shaun Grigg joining the Cats, Chris Scott’s relationship with players and his off-season