Bailey Dale (born 22 July 1996) is a professional Australian rules footballer who plays for the Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League (AFL). At 187 cm (6 ft 2 in) tall and 83 kg (183 lb), he plays as a running half-back who can move up forward or play as a wingman. He grew up in Chelsea Heights, Victoria. He played top-level junior football with the Dandenong Stingrays in the TAC Cup, and placed third in the team's best and fairest.

The Western Bulldogs took Dale with the 45th selection in the 2014 AFL draft. Since then, he has been an All-Australian, a VFL premiership player, and a winner of the Tony Liberatore Most Improved Player Award. He has polled a total of five Brownlow Medal votes in his career.

Dale grew up in Chelsea Heights in the southern suburbs of Melbourne. He grew up supporting Collingwood in the Australian Football League, and cited his all-time favourite AFL player as Chris Judd. Dale began his footballing at the Edithvale-Aspendale junior football club. At just a young age, he played in the Victorian Under 12 schoolboys team. Later, he played in the senior's premiership for the Edithvale-Aspendale Eagles at the age of just 17, kicking a goal to help them get over the line. Dale missed bottom age selection with the Dandenong Stingrays in his under 14s and 15s years, however in 2014 he was selected for the under 18 team, where he finished third in the team's best and fairest. He had one of his best games for the Stingrays in round 8 of the 2014 TAC Cup season, kicking three goals and being named as the team's best. He was also named in the team's best in rounds 6, 10 and 13. After kicking 12 goals in the home-and-away season, Dale kicked two more goals in the Stringrays' finals series, which saw them reach a preliminary final against the Calder Cannons. At the AFL Draft Combine, Dale was noted for his goal-kicking accuracy, scoring 24/30 on the goal-kicking test. Despite being predicted not to be drafted by the majority of phantom drafts, Dale was taken by the Western Bulldogs with pick 45 in the third round of the 2014 AFL draft.

Dale began his first season with the Bulldogs in the Victorian Football League, playing the first six rounds with Footscray. He played the majority of the season across the wing and half-forward. He made his AFL debut in round 7 of the 2015 AFL season, where he kicked a goal and had 12 disposals. He stayed in the team for five more rounds, but was eventually omitted from the team after round 13. He had his best game for the season in round 17, kicking a crucial goal and collecting a season-high 14 disposals in the team's victory over Collingwood. At the conclusion of the season, Dale signed a two-year contract extension, keeping him tied to the club until the end of the 2017 season.

The 2016 AFL season saw Dale appear only four times in the senior side, and although he missed out on the senior team's "fairytale" 2016 AFL Grand Final, he still tasted premiership success, as he played in Footscray's winning VFL premiership side. In the pre-season, he gained 8 kilograms (18 lb) to improve his frame. He had a good start to the year, kicking seven goals in a brutal pre-season VFL match which saw Footscray win by 131 points. As a result of this performance, he came back into the senior side in round 5 to face Brisbane Lions after missing the first four rounds of the AFL season. and contributed 16 disposals and two behinds in the team's win. However, Dale would struggle to maintain his spot in the senior side, playing just 3 more games in the AFL team for the rest of the season. Following his omission from the team after Round 8, he became a vital member of the Footscray VFL team, kicking 20 goals from 17 games and coming second in Footscray's goal-scoring tally. In round 15 of the 2016 VFL season, Dale kicked four goals to help the Bulldogs beat the Casey Scorpions by a singular point. He had his best game in the VFL in round 21, collecting 23 disposals, 8 marks and 3 goals to send Footscray into a qualifying final against Casey. He was also a key player in Footscray's 119-point win over Collingwood in the preliminary final, kicking two goals and collecting 17 disposals. Dale was quiet in the VFL side's premiership win, but still kicked a goal.

In the 2017 AFL season, Dale played 16 games and became a regular in the Bulldogs' best 22 side. After missing the first five rounds of the season, Dale was brought back into the team in round 6 as a late replacement for injured ruckman Tom Campbell. In his return game, he collected 18 disposals and a behind. After being dropped for the next game, Dale was again brought back into the side the following round, and from there played every game for the season. Dale had his breakout game against St Kilda in round 10, collecting 27 disposals and kicking a goal in a career best performance which saw him named in the team's best on ground. In round 17, Dale had another 27 disposal game against Carlton which saw him named in the team's best, this time kicking two goals with it to make it his best game to that point. Dale signed a two-year contract extension in August 2017, keeping him at the club until the end of the 2019 AFL season. He set a then-career high goals record against Port Adelaide in the penultimate round of the season, kicking four goals. Bailey Dale was named in the AFL Media's team of the week and was rated in the team's best by The Age, SEN and Footyology.com.au. At the conclusion of the season, Dale claimed the Tony Liberatore Most Improved Player Award after being recognised for his strong season, kicking a total of 17 goals from 16 games.

The 2018 AFL season was a forgettable one for Dale, who played just 10 games in what was also a disappointing season for the Bulldogs. He had a 20 disposal, one-goal game to open the season as the Bulldogs got crushed by Greater Western Sydney. Dale contributed to a 21-point Bulldog win over Essendon in round 3, kicking two goals to help them get over the line. He also played a vital part in getting the Bulldogs across the line in round 8 against Brisbane Lions, kicking a goal and setting Marcus Bontempelli up with another to win the game, alongside his 24 disposals. Dale played his last senior game in round 10 in late May, suffering a low grade stress foot injury. Unfortunately for Dale, his injury got progressively worse, after the Bulldogs opted for surgery in order to repair his navicular bone, ending his 2018 season prematurely.

His move up forward he looks so much more dangerous than he did down back. I think he can be an All-Australian player next year.