WITH Geelong trailing by 30-points as the Magpies ran rampant in the third term on Saturday night football, the Cats needed an injection of energy.
Esava Ratugolea had fallen victim to an ankle sprain and medical sub Luke Dahlhaus was warming up as Chris Scott was delivering his final address to the playing group.
As the tide turned in the middle of the MCG and the Cats made their charge, Luke Dahlhaus was having his say.
In less than 20 per cent of game time, Dahlhaus amassed seven touches including the left-footed assist to Jeremy Cameron that sealed the match for the Cats.
However it’s not the ball-winning or the goal assists that best show the veteran Cat’s impact on the game.
Playing as a high forward is a thankless task with little fanfare, so Cats Media spoke to assistant coach Nigel Lappin to explain the intricacies of the team-first position.
“We ask our high forwards and our running forwards to do a hell of a lot of work,” Lappin says.
“In defence we ask them to get up the ground and help us create an outnumber, but then as soon as we turn the ball over we ask them to get dangerous ahead of the ball or not allow the opposition to create an outnumber in their defence which they want to do.
“It’s a pretty tireless role, you have to get up and down the ground and their work rate is huge.
“From a GPS point of view the high forwards have the most high-speed running in our team.”
Patrick Dangerfield was quick to sing Dahlhaus’ praises earlier this season after the small forward’s strong Round 1 performance, speaking to the hard work that goes unnoticed.
Lappin helped pull back the curtain on some of those thankless tasks.
As midfielders stream forwards in attack, Dahlhaus and the Cats small forwards are asked to protect their backs defensively.
“We ask some of our forwards to do some of the transitioning for our midfielders so our midfielders can be as good as they are in the contest – that’s clearly why Pat spoke about that,” Lappin says.
“One of Dal’s roles is to make sure that if Pat for example, can’t transition away from a stoppage for whatever reason that he picks up the slack.”
Statistically Dahlhaus has had a lean two years when it comes to scoreboard impact and volume of possession, however he’s also been battling his body to play his role.
“Dal over the last couple of seasons has carried some lower limb issues and just hasn’t been able to get the two pre-seasons prior to this one,” Lappin says.
“He’s come into the year skinny which has probably not allowed him to get over those issues with his body.
“This is the first full pre-season he’s had for a while. He started training early and has got himself into fantastic condition.”
It’s on the back of that fantastic condition that Dahlhaus has put his best foot forward in 2022, making winning plays like the crucial Jeremy Cameron goal assist.
Lappin says that it’s these selfless actions that make him valuable to the team.
“It’s always based on his ability to put the team first, which he’s been incredible at for both the clubs he’s played for which is why his teammates love him,” he says.
“He’s selfless, he doesn’t care whether he’s kicking the goals or not, while he enjoys kicking a goal and has a great celebration.
“He’s just as happy if he’s giving them off and his teammates are kicking goals.
“He’s an absolute team player.”
