If persistence counts for anything in footy, then newEssendon rookie Lauchlan Dalgleish looks set for a successful career.

Cut by his TAC Cup team as a 17-year-old, seriously injured just before thisyear's NAB AFL Combine, and then overlooked in the November draft; for a whileit seemed the super-quick left-footer just wasn't meant to find his way onto anAFL list.

But through each setback, Dalgleish had the maturity and determination to pushon, and got his reward when the Bombers took him at pick 11 in the Decemberrookie draft.

The secret has been a willingness to seek out and take on criticism that wouldhelp him improve.

When he failed to make the final cut at the North Ballarat Rebels at thebeginning of 2010, Dalgleish went to his local club Ararat and asked coachScott Turner (the former Richmond Tiger) for a shot at senior footy.

A year later, he arrived back at North Ballarat trials a different player.

""You could just see the improvement in not only his running – he'd gottena bit quicker – but we also noticed that his kicking had improved, he wasstronger in the body, and was gaining a lot more possessions during ourpractices matches,"" Rebels region manager Phil Partington told essendonfc.com.au.

Second time around, Dalgleish not only made the Rebels' squad, but quicklybecame a regular – and key contributor – in the team.

An outstanding sprinter who had done the rounds of the country gifts afterbeing taken on by an Ararat athletics coach, the sight of Dalgleish dashingdown the wing became a weekly occurrence in the TAC Cup.

""The game I most remember was when we played Geelong Falcons at SkilledStadium,"" recalled Partington.

""In the first half he got hold of a few balls, and he'd just take off.

""There's not too many players in the TAC Cup who can catch him when he'sup and going.

""But the beauty about him also, when he's running at full pace he's gotthe ability not to break stride when he kicks the football – he can steadygoing flat out, which is a really good feature of his game.

""So there were many times when he'd take three or four bounces and have arunning shot from 45 to 50 metres out and kick the goal.""

Just as AFL clubs were beginning to take notice, disaster struck only weeks outfrom the crucial NAB AFL Combine.

Minutes before half-time in the Rebels' final against Oakleigh, Dalgleish wasillegally cannoned into at a marking contest.

""I didn't know what had hit me,"" Dalgleish said.

""I went up for a mark and as I was coming down I felt a really sharp paingo through my right side.

""He'd hit me with his elbow, and I knew something wasn't right.

""I played on a little bit, but I couldn't really breathe properly so Iwent off and went to see the doctor.""

That doctor told the young hopeful he had a punctured lung.

""It meant he couldn't raise a sweat or increase his breathing in the monthbefore the combine, in case it deflated the lung again,"" Partington said.

""Two or three days before the combine we still weren't sure whether he wasgoing to be able to test.""

But not only was he able to test, he also performed remarkably well, comingsecond overall in the 30-metre repeat sprint, third in the 20-metre sprint,fourth in the agility run and, for good measure, fourth in the clean handstest.

""I would have loved to have seen him fully fit, because he achieved thoseresults with four of five weeks of no physical work behind him,""Partington said.

Understandably, the combine performance, plus his consistently improving format TAC Cup level, had Dalgleish hopeful of having his name read out on November24.

When it wasn't, it would have been easy to sulk.

Instead, Dalgleish took the same approach he'd taken after being cut by theRebels – immediately getting his ""head down and arse up,"" asPartington put it.

""I was definitely disappointed,"" Dalgleish said.

""After it happened I got back into training and tried to get a bit ofinformation from some of the clubs as to why I didn't get picked up and what Icould improve on.

""I just tried to get myself out there and give myself the best chance toget picked up in the rookie draft.""

The day after the draft, Dalgleish was on the training track with the NorthBallarat Roosters.

On the Sunday he ran in, and won, the Terang Gift.

And by Monday, with the help of Partington, he'd received an invite to trainwith Essendon.

Three weeks later, the Bombers called out ""Lauchlan Dalgleish"" overthe phone hook-up into AFL House.

After two years of consistent hard work to get there, the real hard work hadjust begun.