They say that the bravery and exuberance of youth can take you a long way.

Fearless, uninhibited, free.

Bravery takes many forms on the football field.

Bravery to run back with the flight of the ball to intercept or spoil, unaware of what may be coming the other way.

Bravery to get-up after being repeatedly knocked down and dismissed.

Bravery to go toe-to-toe with the competition’s best, respectful of their talent yet undaunted by their reputation.

That is the Bulldogs of 2015.

“We’ve as a club tried to hold that ideal of ‘no fear,’ to take the game on and really see where it takes us,” said Marcus Bontempelli on FoxFooty’s AFL360 earlier in the week.

“So far this year it’s put us in a good position.

“We’ve made quite a big difference on our impact last year as a team, and I think you’re seeing the rewards of some hard work and just a tenacity to take the game on and just challenge teams.”

But bravery comes in other forms too, Bontempelli says.

Bravery to “just play footy.”

“You’ve got to be willing to go out of your way to show that you’re not afraid, and not intimidated and as a group we’re trying to embody that type of spirit that we’re up for the fight with anyone that we’re playing against.”

“That comes out of you as an individual as well.”

“Once you hit the turf, and once you in that centre bounce, there’s no two-ways about it that you’re head-to-head and the best man wins.”

Where will bravery take the Bulldogs this season? For Bontempelli there’s no answer, only time will tell.

“It’s hard for us to put our finger on it at the moment, I can only really refer back to last year, and how far we’ve come from last year.

“We really don’t know - that’s probably the honest answer - how quickly we can get to where we want to be.

For many outside the four walls of the Kennel, finals is the destination that they seemingly see Luke Beveridge’s men on the path towards, but Bontempelli is adamant that you can’t get distracted by the horizon, rather you must focus on the path immediately ahead.

“As a Club we know you’ve got to earn the right to play finals, and earn your spot there.”

“We’ve got a tough couple of weeks ahead of us and who knows where we can end up.”