Bailey Dale hasn’t had things all go to plan over the past 12 months.
A navicular bone injury saw the midfielder-forward sidelined for the second half of 2018, and having to build into the 2019 pre-season.
Dale forced his way into the AFL side after six games for Footscray, played three games and was dropped.
A best afield performance in the VFL against Richmond – where he collected 27 disposals, laid six tackles and two goals – saw him recalled for last week’s clash with St Kilda.
And the 23-year-old capitalised on that chance with a career-high five goals against the Saints, which gave him ‘a little bit of confidence’.
“I’ve been in and out of the side a little bit over the past couple of months,” Dale said post-game.
“I moved into the inside mid (role) at VFL level just to really try to steel myself for the contest and play with a lot of energy.
“I think I did that (against the Saints) and got rewarded.
“It was a good to put in a strong performance, I’ll try to back it up next week.”
Dale’s ability to hit the scoreboard has been a feature of his game, which has spanned 44 games across five seasons at the Dogs.
The challenge now will be maintaining his strong form against the Saints over the coming weeks.
His teammates definitely see a role for him in the side.
“He was superb,” key defender and leadership group member Jackson Trengove said.
“Coming back from the VFL he put in a strong performance the week before and warranted his call up.
“But then to prove it on the bigger stage of an AFL game and kick five for us, in a game where we probably struggled as a team to get it into our forwards quick enough and enough times… it was super for him.
“To get his confidence up and get him going, it’s terrific for our team.”
