Identify talent where others can’t. Find a football future for a player who’s been overlooked. As the saying goes, ‘find a diamond in the rough’.
 
When Western Bulldogs came across Luke Dahlhaus as a dreadlocked teen from Leopold in 2010, they knew they had found one of those rare football gems.
 
The young Geelong Falcons recruit had speed, he could chase and tackle but even more than that he had an infectious energy out on the field.
 
Eighteen months on Dahlhaus has emerged as a vital cog in the Western Bulldogs’ future and has repaid his faith in the Club by extending his contract one year before it was due for renewal.
 
Dahlhaus was given his chance with the Bulldogs first round selection in the 2010 AFL Rookie Draft (pick 22 overall) and has never looked back.
 
His ability to inject pace into the forward line as well as his relentless attitude towards winning his own ball is what initially caught Recruiting Manager Simon Dalrymple’s eye.
 
“His speed and agility, his ability to win his own ball and his decision making with the ball was good - as was his tackling,” Dalrymple said.
 
“We knew he was fanatical about his footy and you certainly knew you could trust him to work really hard which is a key criteria for every player but especially ones in the rookie draft.”
 
A player’s on-field performance only tells part of the story and while Dalrymple believed Dahlhaus interviewed “casually” but well, it was his background that struck a chord and cemented in his mind that Dahlhaus should be a Bulldog.
 
Throughout the recruiting process Dalrymple was impressed with how highly those around Dahlhaus spoke about him.
 
“Interviewing tells part of the story but it was more the background work on him - talking to his teachers at his school and the people involved with him at the Falcons,” he said.

‘Hard-working’, ‘really honest sort of kid’, ‘trustworthy’ were common sentiments expressed by those Dalrymple spoke to.
 
“When you get that consistent message combined with a good interview it hits home,” he said.
 
“Not just from one or two people that might be biased but from a whole range of people that have had involvement with Luke.”
 
During his 21 career games Dahlhaus has become an integral member of the Bulldogs forward line-up with aspirations to progress into the midfield as he continues to build his tank.
 
Adding a Rising Star Nomination to his few career accolades, Dahlhaus proved enough to be added to the Bulldogs Senior list for the start of the 2012 season.
 
While Dahlhaus’s rise to become a regular in the Bulldogs senior line-up was faster than many anticipated, Dalrymple is certain there is still plenty of upside left to come from the youngster.
 
“We have seen what he can produce so far but there is still a fair bit of improvement to go,” Dalrymple said.
 
“You take nothing for granted in footy but he has got a good attitude and the conditioning program here is good - we are pretty optimistic that we will see him keep improving.
 
“He has added a lot of excitement at the club and he was certainly a type of player that we identified that we needed at the time and it is great to see him playing well and I hope it continues.”
 
The dreadlocked nineteen year old is excited to continue his football career at Whitten Oval and hopes his footy earns him more fans than his hairdo in years to come.
 
“It means a lot for myself and I’m just really happy for it - just enjoying playing my role at the moment and hopefully I keep doing that and hopefully we get a few more wins,” Dahlhaus said.
 
“I hope it has [more to do with] how I play than my hair but I am just loving my footy.”