But five weeks on the football world is starting to take notice of Rodney Eade’s men. On Sunday, as rank underdogs they shocked the public with a 27-point win over Carlton.
A week after their loss to Geelong an 18 year old rookie was given his first taste against St. Kilda, they lost the game but found a cult hero.
With long flowing dreadlocks, Luke Dahlhaus injected enthusiasm, spirit and an abundance of the old-fashioned one per centers to help lift the Bulldogs up the ladder.
Since his debut, the Bulldogs have won four in a row capped off by a classy win over the Blues to end round 16.
"Just to be running around here with all these boys is a dream come true and something I’m trying to take full opportunity of," Dahlhaus said after Sunday's win.
The teenager finished with 13 possessions and a goal in the 27-point win and said his desire to do the little things have helped the Bulldogs' form.
"They [the Bulldogs] really needed me for my forward pressure and stuff like that, so that’s what I’m going to bring, so that’s added a bit of a spark, so that’s good," he said.
Dahlhaus said an emphasis on constant running was crucial to the win.
"Just to run them off their legs, definitely in their backline, us forward line boys, just to keep running and running, and we were going to end up running them off their legs and that’s what we ended up doing," he said.
Coach Rodney Eade said Dahlhaus had been a revelation over the past month capped off by an impressive game against Carlton
“He’s been terrific, I think his pressure and a credit to him that they tried to put (Chris) Yarran on to him today," Eade said.
