Geelong star Patrick Dangerfield backs in ‘pro’ Luke Dahlhaus to show his AFL credentials

Luke Dahlhaus joined Geelong after a public falling out at the Western Bulldogs, and new teammate Patrick Dangerfield thinks the new recruit has a point to prove.

Luke Luke Dahlhaus started training at the Cats earlier this month. Picture: Alison Wynd

Geelong star Patrick Dangerfield doesn’t feel the need to play big brother to new recruit Luke Dahlhaus, backing in the former Bulldog to prove the doubters wrong.

Dahlhaus made headlines in September when he fired a parting salvo at his old club and former skipper Bob Murphy’s suggestion that he hadn’t maintained his motivation after the Dogs’ 2016 premiership.

Dahlhaus joined Dangerfield at the Cats during the free agency period, and the Brownlow medallist believes his new teammate is now keen to let his football do all the talking.

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“Not a huge amount, I don’t think,” Dangerfield said when asked if he felt a need to guide the new Cat.

“Luke’s a pro, he trains his backside off. That’s how he’s got to the situation that he’s in.

“He was a rookie pick, and when he first started he was starting from a long way back and he’s a premiership player now, he’s played 150-odd games.

Luke Dahlhaus started training at the Cats earlier this month. Picture: Alison Wynd

“I don’t think he’s got a chip on his shoulder but he’s certainly got a point to prove to people that he’s a really good league footballer.

“We expect a lot of him this year but not as much as he expects of himself. He’ll handle it like a pro.”

Dangerfield is back at pre-season training — a feeling he likened to the first day at school — with the rest of a new-look Geelong playing list.

The 28-year-old jokingly suggested he could play for “another seven or eight years” but was serious when speaking about his own quest to taste the ultimate success, wary of the ever-present premiership clock.

“It’s always ticking,” he said.

“I’m an impatient person, and all our leaders are. They understand that the end is closer than the beginning, so it is about getting on our bike and being successful again quickly.

Patrick Dangerfield (right) and skipper Joel Selwood are craving premiership success. Pic: AAP

“I remember sitting in a room with Simon Goodwin, he said ‘just enjoy the ride and make sure you’re impatient because it just races’.

“This is year 12 (in the AFL) for me and all of a sudden, the mortality of ‘it’ll end eventually’ is a reality.”

The Brownlow medallist expects some “slight tinkerings” to the game plan that saw the Cats bow out in an elimination final this year.

He expects wantaway teammate Tim Kelly to play a key role and continue his emergence in 2019 — despite the first-year star not achieving an end-of-season trade back to WA — as the Cats again plot a course for September success.

“Expectations don’t change for us. They’re high,” Dangerfield said.

“(They) always have been, always will be.

“You can throw out any number, we’re not even in December yet ... I’m not going to put a top-four or top-eight (aim), but we’re here to compete for a premiership.”