Every time Ayce Cordy opens his number 49 locker at Whitten Oval, he glances at his father’s name and is given a brief but special reminder of his family’s historical ties to the Western Bulldogs.

The Cordy name is synonymous with the Club. His old man and two uncles lined up in the red, white and blue in a bygone era and with his younger brother rising through the junior AFL ranks, Cordy hopes he is not the last in the family lineage. 

Watch Ayce Cordy answer your fan questions on the media player above in BulldogsTV's latest episode of 'Ask A Player.'

Despite the last name, the 2008 father / son selection is very much his own person - he values the significance but doesn’t want it to define him.

“I am my own person and my Dad would be the first person to say that but at the same time my old man and I are very close,” Cordy said.

“To walk in every morning and on the way in I see my uncle’s name on his locker and then I get to my locker and it has my Dad’s name on it.

“That family thing is always going to be in the back of my mind and it makes it a little bit more special - it is something that not a lot of blokes get to experience."

While his nerves may have been calmer than his fellow recruits on draft day, his road to playing AFL has tested his character.

Consecutive injury setbacks kept him off the park in early years and put him on the back foot in terms of his development - making him feel like he had to play catch up to fellow 2008 draftee and good friend Jordan Roughead.

Taking it in his stride the level-headed 22 year old believes this season he is beginning to turn the corner - and close the gap.

Referring to his time at the Club as a journey, Cordy has shown, if nothing else, that resilience is once of his key strengths and positivity is just second nature.

“I am nothing without my positivity. It is something that has kept me going for most of my life really,” he said.

“I am very lucky, I have a great family and a football Club now which becomes part of your family.

“You look outside the window and talk to some people that aren’t playing football and… you know how lucky you are.

“Every day I have at this Club, however long my career is, is going to be the best time in my life - there is no point getting ‘down’ about that.”

He takes comfort in having just re-signed with the Club, a token of their belief in him - but as one of his own harshest critics, he is still not completely happy with his own output.

His weight gain while at the Bulldogs has been phenomenal but he still has 5kg to go - he no longer looks out of place out on the football field but having the physicality to compete in the contests has brought with it different challenges.

Cordy prides himself on his agility and athleticism but playing with the added bulk has seen a loss of pace - an attribute he is determined to get back, it just takes time.