Footy fans love a high mark, they love a big tackle and they love a player tucking the ball under his arm and taking the defence on.

So when Jason Johannisen intercepted Jade Gresham’s handball last weekend, flew down the Doug Hawkins wing, took two bounces and hit a leading Jake Stringer on the chest, it was bound to be the talk of the town.

It was the play of a footballer brimming with confidence, a player willing to back himself in.

But it wasn’t always this way. 

When an 18-year-old Jason Johannisen walked through the doors of Victoria University Whitten Oval in late 2011 after being taken at pick 39 in the Rookie Draft, confidence wasn’t a word easily associated with him.

The Bulldogs coaching staff saw potential in the young West Australian, but Johannisen himself was plagued by self-doubt.

Five years on, the 23-year-old is gearing up  for game number 50 this weekend against the Hawks, and is playing the best football of his career.

The 2015 season was a breakout year for the South African born defender, he finished the year averaging a fraction below 20 disposals a game and took home the Tony Liberatore Award for Most Improved Player.

This year, Johannisen has burst out of the gates, picking up 62 touches in his first two games, leaving some pundits wondering if he may already have six Brownlow votes to his name.

Talking to SEN’s Inside Football before the season, Johannisen said it was difficult to pin-point when the moment was, but going into his fifth season, he finally feels like he belongs at the top level.

“There wasn’t an exact point but it did take me a bit of time (to believe in myself),” he said.

“Playing down back last year with ‘Bob’ [Robert Murphy] and ‘Boydy’ [Matthew Boyd] I started to feel a lot more comfortable in myself and my ability to play.”

“They [the coaching staff] would say ‘don’t worry about mistakes’. 

“[But] as a player you would always get nervous about making mistakes, but as soon as they put belief in me I just took it and ran with it.”

Talking to westernbulldogs.com.au, Assistant Coach Daniel Giansiracusa said that the 23-year-old had come a long way in a short period of time.

“I was playing when he first came to the footy club and the maturity of him now, compared to be where he was when he first started is a credit to him.

‘It’s amazing what he’s done for this footy club so far, and we’re looking forward to seeing it for a lot longer to come.”