A 26 possession, five inside-50, three goal performance in the VFL saw the 21-year-old back in the senior team in Round 8 against the Eagles and didn’t look back.
Dale played 16 games in 2017 after just four in 2016, recording career highs in disposals, contested possessions, goals, inside 50s and tackles.
The wingman's four-goal haul against Port Adelaide in round 22 was a standout match and his 27 disposals and two goals performance in the Bulldogs’ 20-point win over Carlton in Round 17 was another highlight.
Was awarded the 2017 Tony Liberatore medal for Most Improved Player.
Stat that mattered:
Kicked 17 goals from 16 games, a career high.
What they said:
“Compared to last year, only playing the four games, to play 16 this year has been great.
“I work on my goal kicking quite a bit, it’s one of the hardest things in footy, especially when you fatigue to go back and put it through the big sticks as we’ve found out this year. I really pride myself on goal kicking and I’m always looking to improve it.
“To improve my aerobic capacity, as a winger the competition is getting harder and harder that’ll be a big focus. I’ll just continue to get bigger and stronger in the gym – hold off the tackles and try to stick my own tackles.”
- Bailey Dale, September 2017
