Luke Dahlhaus was a steal when the Western Bulldogs swooped and selected him at pick No.22 in the 2011 Rookie Draft.
Dahlhaus will join illustrious company and gain life membership of the club when he runs out for his 150th match on Saturday night against North Melbourne.
“It means a lot,” Dahlhaus told westernbulldogs.com.au
“It’s come a bit quicker than I thought. Eight years. I didn’t think it’d come around that quick.
“I didn’t think I’d get a game in the first place.”
After being overlooked in the National Draft, the Western Bulldogs threw a lifeline to the talented kid from Leopold.
“Obviously after the draft I was pretty upset that no one picked me up but the Bulldogs gave me that opportunity and I had to work very hard that year to get into the side.
“To play 150 games for this club and to have had the success we’ve had, it’s a great feeling.”
Unsurprisingly, Dahlhaus nominates the Grand Final as his greatest playing achievement.
“There’s been some rebuilding phases and there’s been some great success as well.
“The grand final is obviously the highlight of my career. I didn’t think I’d be able to run out on the MCG let alone win a grand final on it.
“It’s been a great journey and hopefully it can continue.”
The influence of assistant coach Daniel Giansiracusa has helped Dahlhaus get the most out of himself.
“Daniel Giansiracusa and Bob Murphy were massive for me both on and off the field.
“Blokes like Ryan Griffin and Shaun Higgins in the early days (too). The mates I’ve made along the way has been amazing.
“To see the young leadership group we have now and me being one of the more experienced players is quite scary but exciting at the same time.”
While Dahlhaus arrived at Whitten Oval with dreads, he said they won’t be returning anytime soon.
“We won’t be seeing the dreads anytime soon. I was happy to get rid of them.
“It was probably a bit of a younger age sort of thing. What was I? 18-20!
“They won’t be coming back.”