Imagine this…

Drafted at Pick 25 in the National Draft by the Western Bulldogs after skippering Gippsland Power in the TAC Cup.

Round 1, 2016; debut for the Club.

You play 13 games in your opening home-and-away season with the red, white and blue.

In an Elimination Final, you kick two goals away from home to begin one of the great finals runs.

Three weeks later, you’re in the middle of the MCG playing in the 2016 AFL Grand Final.

Three hours later, you’re a Premiership player, as the youngest member of the Bulldogs side.

That was the first 12 months of Josh Dunkley’s AFL career… The popular midfielder has never looked back since.

Come Sunday, the courageous star will play his 100^th game for the Club against Essendon at Marvel Stadium.

The 25-year-old is your typical new-age midfield prototype. An inside bull standing at 191cm and 91kg, strong overhead mark and competitor to boot.

Originally from Sydney, Dunkley’s father Andrew played 217 games for the Swans, showing football ran through the veins of the family.

Dunkley’s 2017 season wasn’t so kind. The youngster dislocated his shoulder in Round 7, culminating in a shoulder reconstruction that ruled him out for 12 weeks.

The 2018 season was the breakout campaign for Dunkley, working his way into the midfield by the halfway point of the season.

His ability to win inside ball and find himself in goal scoring positions provided the perfect platform for the Dogs, securing a top five position in the best and fairest.

The form continued the following year, stamping himself as one of the competition’s premier midfielders.

An All-Australian squad member, Dunkley finished runner-up in the Club’s top award for 2019.

Dunkley was again a part of another premiership tilt in 2021, playing in the team that eventually lost to Melbourne in the decider in Perth.

Another shoulder reconstruction dampened the season, before returning ahead of schedule in round 18 to begin the Bulldogs’ assault towards the finals.

Away from football, Dunkley is a popular teammate that plays a role whenever the team requires it.

Two weeks ago, Josh wrote about Good Friday meaning more to players than people think on espn.com.

“I’ve been lucky enough to play two grand finals so far in my career. And yes, they are big games with huge meaning, however this one to me and many others is right up there,” he said.

That sums up Josh Dunkley.

Brutal on-field but understanding and giving off it.