ON THE surface, it would be reasonable to assume Luke Dahlhaus' long dreadlocks wouldn't be to Rodney Eade's liking.

The Bulldogs coach has always shown a favour for the no-nonsense type but hasn't spoken out against Dahlhaus' eye-catching hairdo according to the youngster.

If anything, he has encouraged it.

"When I first came to the club I thought it would have to come off but ever since I arrived he said it shows that I'm different and I don't mind showing that," Dahlhaus said of his coach.

"He doesn't mind it which is good. I'm not sure how long I'll keep it. We'll have to see."

Dahlhaus' hair is not the only thing drawing attention. His bubbly enthusiasm, hard tackling and knack for a sneaky goal have quickly made him a fan favourite and a genuine bright spark in a disappointing season for his club.

His 19-possession, two-goal performance against Essendon earned him the NAB AFL Rising Star nomination for round 21 after presenting his case strongly over the past two months.

Those two goals came at important times in the heavy loss to the Bombers.

After going in to the half-time break eight goals down, the Bulldogs were in desperate need of a lift. And not for the first time this season, Dahlhaus was the one to give it when his more senior teammates struggled to get things moving.

Both his third-quarter goals came from unlikely opportunities and he once again praised Eade for backing him.

"He put me on the wing at the start of the second half. He said we needed some run so I went on the wing. That was the first time I've played there and I just wanted to give the team some run. Fortunately I got two goals out of it which is good," he said.

"He encourages us to play to our strengths. He always says to me 'You've got your run Lukey, so use your run. Get the ball, take them on and keep trying to win the ball'."