Defender Bailey Dale was at his best on Thursday night against the Saints, registering a pair of career-high stats in the 60-point win.

After being named the starting substitute the week before, Dale registered a whopping 39 disposals and 15 marks in a dominant performance.

“I probably got dropped to that sub and needed that little circuit breaker. Some people like it, some people don’t but he is the coach so he makes the calls,” he told the Herald Sun.

“When you find yourself out of the side you are thinking ‘what is going on?’. I knew what I needed to work on, I was really clear with that and it was good to go out there and free the mind and get on the end of a few which is always nice.”

To go with his career-high 39 disposals and 15 marks, Dale finished the night with a goal, six rebound-50s and six inside-50s - his greatest outputs since rounds 20, 21 and 7 last season respectively.

“I probably didn’t use the ball as well as I would have liked over the first five weeks - probably a bit inconsistent there and just that was probably the main thing and getting in right spots defensively so I felt like I did that,” he said.

“I had a focus to drive my legs (last) week and use up a bit more space, didn’t want to rush myself and I felt like I did that.

“When you run at the game, things open up and it’s a lot easier to find an option.”

The Bulldogs will travel to WA this weekend, with a Saturday night clash against Fremantle their next challenge.