Luke Dahlhaus opens up about his time at the Western Bulldogs and why he is so happy at the Cats
Luke Dahlhaus admits it. When he was gunning for a midfield role at the Bulldogs, he cared about his stats and ‘all of that sort of sh**’. But now as a forward at Geelong, he has found his happy place and he isn’t the only Cat sporting a big smile.
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There’s the joy splashed all over Gryan Miers’ face.
The selflessness in Tom Hawkins’ eyes as they dart around, seemingly always in search of an open teammate.
And the camaraderie behind closed doors, when Gary Ablett’s name was written in a corner of the whiteboard in the Geelong meeting room, indicating that the champion ball-winner had won the players coveted “moment” award for his Easter Monday heroics.
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Luke Dahlhaus said the weekly award is usually reserved for a particularly selfless act, like a bump or instinctive handball, or even an unrewarded bolt of repeat running, to help a teammate.
But when Ablett bagged his third goal on the march inside 50m, shutting the door on the Hawks despite a chorus of boos that day, his Geelong teammates wanted to recognise the little master.
So, up went the 34-year-old’s name on Chris Scott’s board.
“The players have this thing, this award, where it’s based on moments (in the game) rather than an all over (contribution),” Dahlhaus said while sitting in the club café this week.
“There’s been a Gryan Miers tackle, and a Gary Rohan chase, things like that.
“But Gary (Ablett) has got in the past couple of weeks, just for the way he has stepped up and kicked the goal at the right time, in the big moment. He’s really got us on a roll.
“He’s been that good, we had to give it to him.”
As much as we’ve lauded the Cats’ razor-sharp defensive pressure, Dahlhaus said the driving force behind their sensational start to the season (despite a nightmare draw) had been the special synergy and selflessness that is brewing at the Cattery.
Boiled down, it’s the shared joy of playing, wholeheartedly, for one another, and celebrating the shared achievement.
“The big thing is I feel like we are all playing on the same terms and it feels like we are all playing for each other,” Dahlhaus said.
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“Things like, a chase that doesn’t even end up with a tackle.
“We show clips of this sort of stuff all the time, either straight after the game or Monday back at the club. We always recognise it.
“Or something that might be as little as running 10m over to congratulate your mate. It has a much bigger impact than you think, and it’s not like we are faking it or doing it for the sake of it.
“It’s because we really want to get around each other and are genuinely happy for each other.
“I was lucky enough to kick a goal at the weekend and I could see how happy Gryan Miers was in his face, the way he came up to me, that I had just kicked a goal.
“You should have seen him. He was just so happy and that’s been the biggest thing for me since coming here, just seeing the boys play so well.
“Things like that really gives you energy, so it’s definitely been a good feeling playing out there with them.”
Dahlhaus, 26, knows this sweet spot well.
The former Bulldog felt a similar buzz three years ago when the clever forward rang his parents the day after the Bulldogs upset West Coast in an elimination final in Perth.
Dahlhaus told his mum and dad that the young Dogs were going to win a shock premiership coming, somewhat unbelievably, from seventh spot.
He still shakes his head, in a way, at what happened and the connectedness that existed that September.
“I wasn’t confident (to begin with), but after five minutes in the first quarter (against the Eagles) — and you know this as a footballer — there is a feeling and we had it. We just had it,” Dahlhaus said.
“I remember coming home and I rang my parents and said to them, ‘We are going to win it’.
“Those four weeks in the finals was one of the best feelings playing out there that I’ve ever experienced, and I could say that for all the guys.
“But it can be hard to maintain at times, because it is so hard, and there’s so many obstacles.”
That’s why the Cats themselves are taking nothing for granted, with six wins from seven games, ahead of Sunday’s clash against North Melbourne at Marvel Stadium.
“It’s still so early in the season, we know there’s so much work still yet to do,” Dahlhaus said.
“It depends how you are going when it gets to the real stuff, so we are hoping we can keep it going.
“But like the GWS game, we are going to have some off days, but as long as you keep up and about during the week, keep the mind fresh, there is no reason why we can’t go pretty well.”
As Dahlhaus experienced at the Kennel over the past two years, things can turn quickly. Sometimes, unexpectedly so.
The Dogs were set for a crack at a premiership dynasty after winning the 2016 flag, but things fell apart as they missed the finals entirely over the past two campaigns.
“From the Bulldogs’ side of things, I think getting a premiership and then trying to back it up with such a young ream, I think it just got to us,” Dahlhaus said.
“We weren’t too bad. But I just think some of the outside noise might have got to us and the pressure of being hunted, because the Grand Final came so unexpectedly.
“We came seventh that year, and then we went ‘bang, bang, bang’ in four weeks.
“It was great to win it, but it came as a bit of a shock, I think, with such a young team.”
But things have changed significantly for the hardworking forward since then and Dahlhaus admitted his enjoyment of the game diminished last season.
He’s moved back home to Geelong, where he can see family more regularly and go for a surf, and handed in his midfield license in for a full-time hard-nosed forward role.
Things generally are back on an even keel again, for the 161-gamer.
“I feel like I’m way more relaxed, now,” he said.
“What I have learned is that you can never be too upset with the bad ones, and never be too happy with the good ones, either.
“That can be hard sometimes because you can get a little bit carried away when it’s a good win, you’ve kicked a couple, you are up and about and there’s heaps of vision of you up on the screens.
“It can be hard, you know, not to get a bit of a wobble head, but it goes the other way too.
“You can’t get too down on yourself because you can get in a spiral, bad form, bad thoughts.”
It compounds?
“Sh — yeah, it does,” he said.
“I just try to keep happy, but they run a really good program down here.
“You get so much time-off to study, to do other things, surfing, golf, heaps of other stuff to stay mentally fresh.
“It helps growing up here, though, and probably not being up in Melbourne much, which is probably something I never really loved.
“I never got settled. I moved every year. It’s just one of those things, but I feel like I made a good decision.”
For Dahlhaus, his role at the Cattery has been simplified, in-line with Scott’s pre-season plans to crank up the pressure and turnovers in the Cats’ revamped forward half.
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“I’ve only played forward here,” he said. “And that was the conversation coming here.
“I think it’s what helped me, knowing that’s my role, and not worrying about other stuff.
“There’s probably been times (in his career) where I was trying to impress so much that I wanted to get into the midfield, and I was probably worried about getting stats and all of that sort of sh--.
“So, I’m a pressure forward, play high up, near the stoppages. I tackle and chase, get back (to the) drop of the ball and that’s it, and don’t think about anything else.
“If the goals come they come, but for us, it really doesn’t matter who kicks them.”
DAHLHAUS ON “THE WOLFPACK”
GARY ROHAN
“His speed at the contest is elite, he just hits the contest so fast and so hard. He never gets beaten one-on-one which helps us little blokes. His defensive pressure is brilliant.”
GRYAN MIERS
“His ability to run up and down (is great), he just never stops. He creates options for the defenders coming out of defensive 50m and his finishing is amazing as well.”
GARY ABLETT
“I feel so lucky to stand next to him every week. It’s been incredible. The things he does at his age is ridiculous. He just knows where to go at the right time. He’s the bloke you want with the ball in his hand. Never misses a target, or a goal.”
TOM HAWKINS
“Whenever he is having a set shot, he is always looking for one of us. You see him looking around. He’s so selfless. It’s probably not something people would have seen but when we played West Coast, he was on (Jeremy) McGovern, just keeping him out of the play. We said after that game how good his role was because Gary Rohan kicks four, Esava kicks one and Ablett has a blinder.”
TOM ATKINS
“He is the bull. When he has the ball in his hands he takes on the tackler and that opens up some options for us. His defensive stuff is elite. But he’s been getting some midfield time, so the forwards have been giving him some stick for that.”
ESAVA RATUGOLEA
“He crashes packs and really takes a massive mark. He’s been helping Rhys Stanley in the ruck as well. He’s played a massive role for the team. He’s defensive stuff has been great too, because he has some toe (speed).”
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