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WESTERN Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge starts his new job early on Monday morning.
He tells Glenn McFarlane about his plans for the future and how he intends to bring a new level of consistency to one of the most inconsistent sides going around.

Luke Beveridge starts with the Western Bulldogs on Monday. Picture: Rob Leeson


GLENN McFARLANE: Congratulations on your appointment, Luke. Can you finish this sentence for me? “The Bulldogs in 2015 will be ...”
LUKE BEVERIDGE: I’ll use four words: hard to play against. If we incur significant losses, we are not hard to play against. But if we are able to exhibit some kind of consistency, then OK, it looks like the Bulldogs will be harder to play against. I don’t want to sit here and make big statements about what our style will be like because I don’t know exactly how it is going to look. But I am excited. There is that anticipation about what the boys can produce. We will be open to making change and adjustment as we go, and I will be mindful of that. But what I can tell you is that we will be reaching for the sky.

What sort of coach you will be?

I really believe the best coaches adapt their plans to what is available. It is what you can do strategically and tactically, and how you can adapt that to your playing group and their capabilities. I think I was pretty good at it at St Bede’s-Mentone (Beveridge coached three successive flags in C, B and A grades). I was able to influence that at the Hawks and to a lesser extent at the Magpies. That’s my strength. I understand what is available and what the parameters are, and then it is all about empowerment.

Does that empowerment extend to the Bulldogs players?
LB: If there are certain caveats on what they can and can’t do, you have got to be a bit careful because it can stifle what sort of players they can be. I am sensitive to the games-played (numbers) based on their instincts and understand they are going to make mistakes. But I think I am good at knowing when they have stepped away from what you want them to do and when they have made a mistake.

Luke Beveridge was unveiled as Western Bulldogs coach by chief executive Simon Garlick. Picture: David Caird


Can you say what sort of style you want the Bulldogs to play next year and beyond?
LB: As a coach, I always focus on the how to’s — how to be a good side. We are looking to cater for everything in the game. We know there are three phases, and some turnover stuff in between. We are looking for a really rounded approach without focusing on one area or the other. They are interdependent. You can’t be a good defensive side if you don’t use the footy well. If you turn the ball over in the back half, you are very vulnerable.

How do you assess the Bulldogs’ list at the moment?
The boys are evolving. There is a definite mix of youth and experience, and it is probably fixed more on the youth side in comparison to some of the clubs who are up the top of the ladder. The boys are moving into a phase of their performance where they will find their identity. My job is to help them get there. From that point of view, the big challenge is to give them something to hold on to because they are still really impressionable. That’s exciting. They are ready for some principles that are really going to take them to the next level.

How quickly can that improvement come?
We want to establish some consistency. I want them to be consistently hard to play against and maybe win a few of the ones that are a bit tighter. And if we drop a couple, then the margin isn’t that damning. That consistency will be something we will be searching for.
What are the areas do you want to address immediately?

Jake Stringer and Lachie Hunter will be looking to improve under new Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge. Picture: Michael Klein


We will look at making some of the changes that we need to make and work out what needs to be maintained.

I need to ask a lot of questions and I’ve already started doing that. Some of the generic things might need to be maintained and given strength. There will be changes, though, and I want the group to know first what those things might be. The other one is to talk to the group about what our expectations are. I am interested to hear from the players as to what they see as our current strengths and where they see us needing to improve. We need to align that with my expectations and understandings as well, so that we are all on the same page.

What area needs the most attention in terms of improvement?
When you look at our squad, there appears to be some real upside in the back end. We can really generate some improvement there. I look at the other two lines and the upside is there, but there is a longer way to go from the back end. If you look at the midfield and the forwards and what they might be able to produce, then performance-wise it is quite exciting. When I look at the back end, they are the same, but we really need to get it going to improve (in that area).

There were suggestions of some player disunity at the club at the end of this season. How do you address that?
For me, it is all about moving on and having us all working together to be the best that we can be.

Nathan Hrovat is one of many young Western Bulldogs players that will be under Luke Beveridge’s eye. Picture: Michael Klein


What’s the overwhelming personal feeling you will have when you head into the Whitten Oval tomorrow as senior coach?
It’s a little bit of relief that the process is over and I am just really looking forward to the journey. The main emotion is excitement about getting the chance to take the club to the next stage.

It must have been a whirlwind for you over the past five or six weeks. You were getting ready to start as St Kilda’s director of coaching when the Western Bulldogs came calling.
The Hawthorn to St Kilda situation was really transparent. Hawthorn wanted me to fulfil my responsibilities at the club and the Saints were really happy with that. I saw it as a great opportunity to go and work with St Kilda as a potential stepping stone to being a senior coach.
But that came sooner rather than later. Tell us about that first phone call from the Bulldogs?
I got a call the day before I was leaving on an overseas holiday with my family (wife Dana and sons Kye, 16, and Noah, 13). They said they had done an early short-list and you are high up on our agenda and rankings and we would really like you to be a part of it. I told them I needed time to think about it. I knew that I could not compromise this family holiday. I probably should have taken some (coaching) stuff with me, but I left it behind because I didn’t want it to interfere with what was a once-in-a-lifetime holiday with the boys.




Did the Bulldogs’ persistence show how keen they were on you?
Yeah, it probably did. When I made that decision to opt in, I was all in. I started to prepare myself in the mind and I took some notes. They sent me over a brief about what they were after and that eased my mind. They gave me enough time to prepare for the interview. I arrived back in Australia (nine days ago) and I had the interview on the Tuesday, and I was fully prepared to go for the role.

How difficult was it dealing with the Bulldogs when you were in the US with your family?
I probably shielded the boys from it a bit. Dana was excited. But I was trying to make sure it did not interfere with our holiday. We started in San Francisco and we drove down the West Coast. We ended up down in San Diego and then we drove to Las Vegas and had a helicopter ride across the Grand Canyon. Then we went back to Anaheim and did the theme parks and Disneyland for the boys.

How good were St Kilda through the process?
Unbelievably. Richo (St Kilda coach Alan Richardson) rang me and offered to help with the presentation from one of their IT guys, if it was required. I got some messages yesterday that were great.

Luke Beveridge coached St Bede’s-Mentone to three straight flags in the VAFA.

Did you ever think you might be in this position when you were coaching St Bede’s-Mentone in the amateurs in 2006?
Not at the start. During the third year I coached the boys, I started to think I might pursue this at a part-time level. I applied for a TAC job and got the (Sandringham) Dragons job, but I was fortunate enough for Derek Hine and Mick Malthouse to give me an opportunity at the Pies (in 2009-10). And I can’t thank Hawthorn enough for their support over the past few years.

You mentioned the importance of strong family values at your press conference. How important has that been for you and have you thought about the work-life balance you will have to strike?
My immediate family is Dana and the boys; it is the core of your being. It is crucial that we have got that right. Dana and I have been together since we were 15. I’ve always had a strong circle of friends. There were hundreds of messages on my phone (after the appointment). I tried to get back to everyone and I have only just done it. The club has indicated that they are keen to help me keep that work-life balance. It is about having good people around you, and that was the great thing at Hawthorn. Clarko (Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson) is a great leader, but he has good people around who he can delegate to. He built a trust and it is a credit to him to build that sort of environment.

You’ve probably had one of the biggest months of your life. Do you feel refreshed and ready for the challenge?
I’m refreshed. The timing is right and I’m ready to go.

Luke Beveridge with his family outside his Bentleigh East home. Picture: Rob Leeson