Towards the end of 2018, senior coach Luke Beveridge presented Caleb Daniel with a new challenge. 

A move to the backline. 

Somewhere he’d rarely – if ever – played before throughout his football journey

The signs over the last month of 2018, for Daniel and the Dogs, were positive.

For the team, there were three wins, and a narrow loss to eventual preliminary finalist Richmond.

For Daniel, a belief he was up to the challenge. 

An average of 30 disposals per game – and a career-best 40 touches against North Melbourne.

Enter 2019, and that small trial is paying big dividends for the Bulldogs.

Daniel has finished top-five in the best and fairest over the past two seasons, and as one of the side’s most consistent players in 2019, it’s hard not to imagine him sitting there or thereabouts after the opening seven rounds this year.

“To be honest it was probably the back-end of last year that Bevo put me down there, and that’s probably the only time throughout my whole footy career that I’ve played any time down back, so it is new,” Daniel told RSN Breakfast Club earlier this week.

“I was pretty excited – it’s a challenging role, but it’s also a really good one with the ball use and things like that. 

“I suppose I played four or five games down there at the back end of last year and it worked pretty well.

“For Bevo to trust me down there with kick-ins and different things is nice.”

The Bulldogs drafted Daniel with pick 46 in the 2014 NAB AFL Draft. 

His height was spoken about as much as the skill he displayed in a prolific under-18 campaign when he was drafted. 

And it still is.

Getting caught one-on-one against the likes of Mason Cox and Jarryd Roughead in the goal-square this year has been headline news. 

And if anything, Daniel’s skill – his ability to win the ball, make good decisions and execute with precision – has almost gone under the radar. 

But the man who is averaging 29 disposals per game in 2019 – largely effective – plus 6.7 rebound-50s, 14.9 pressure acts and 4.9 score involvements – is a much-appreciated figure internally.

“I’m not surprised at all,” fellow defender Hayden Crozier, told SEN1116 of Daniel’s rich vein of form.

“Caleb at training, he’s probably got the best skills that I’ve seen in someone I’ve played with, on both sides of his body.

“Just his awareness and ability to lateral targets when he’s not really facing that way, hooking across his body and what not.”

Crozier says it’s as much his willingness to compete, as it is the way he uses the footy.

His teammates love playing with him for that reason.

“I think the thing with Caleb that not many people recognise at the moment is just his will and want to halve contests,” Crozier said. 

“I know there’s been a little bit of publicity about Caleb being caught one-out in the square with Jarryd Roughead, Mason Cox and what not.

“Caleb’s extremely good in the air for someone his height and halves a lot of contests, wins a lot of contests that he shouldn’t really win.

“We love playing with Caleb.

“Not only is his offensive ability great, his defensive ability is awesome and his work-rate is first-class.”

Daniel has been a mainstay of the Bulldogs’ side over the past three seasons, missing just six of 70 matches.

And at just 22 years of age, and 80-odd games under his belt, is starting to run into peak form. 

Whether the backline move becomes permanent, or a transition back to the midfield materialises in the years to come, Daniel has embraced the ‘playmaker’ role he’s fast making his own. 

Alongside the likes of Crozier, Jason Johannisen and Matt Suckling, the Bulldogs now have a group of rebounding defenders as good as any in the competition. 

“It probably worked pretty well (last year) – I was able to use the footy and generate some ball movement out of the back end, and we were able to go from back 50 to forward 50 and score,” Daniel said.

“Bevo instils that confidence to play with a free mind, to hit kicks that you see and things like that.

“There’s obviously some rules around that, but you’ve got to take what the game gives you and try to get the team into a scoring position, even if it’s from the last line of defence.”