Welcome to the Kennel, Mr Beveridge

[Webby]

It's official!

I've got a good feeling about this bloke & obviously wish him all the very best on behalf of many hungry Doggies fans!

[The bulldog tragician]

Me too. Lead us out of the wilderness Luke (no pressure)

[Remi Moses]

Impressive presser . Thought he played straight bat, elbow up and left the good ball.
Hasn't tailed off post career either by the look of it.
Good feeling about Luke and the best of luck .
Gutsy call by the club to go back to the untried coach

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Welcome Bev.

I like him on first impressions and have a good feeling about him based off the number of reports I've read and heard, however as always, proof will be in the pudding.

He does sound/look a good fit - if that makes any sense at all.

[Eastdog]

Good luck Luke.

[Bulldog Revolution]

Good start from Luke

In looking forward to him getting stuck into his work with the team

[Ghost Dog]

Not welcome. Welcome back Bevo! Wish you all the best and congratulations.

[BornInDroopSt'54]

Welcome Luke, our destiny is in our hands. This is the era we make the most of our opportunities. As a supporter and member, I offer you my allegiance.

[Twodogs]

Was it Luke Beveridge that put Melbourne in front in the '87 game at Whitten Oval that put them into the finals or am I mixing him up with Ricky Jackson again?

[Scorlibo]

Good luck Quagmire

[always right]

Was it Luke Beveridge that put Melbourne in front in the '87 game at Whitten Oval that put them into the finals or am I mixing him up with Ricky Jackson again?
Wasn't it Robbie Flower?

[azabob]

Was it Luke Beveridge that put Melbourne in front in the '87 game at Whitten Oval that put them into the finals or am I mixing him up with Ricky Jackson again?

Google is your friend.

In this instance so am I. Beveridge debuted in 1989.

[LostDoggy]

Congrats Bulldog Bevo!
Lead us to the promised land!!!

[Pickenitup]

All the best Luke really happy for you think he will be a great fit for us.
Loved watching Luke play for us when I was a kid gutsy little player,

[Webby]

From what I heard in the presser, it seems clear to me that Bobby Murphy is the next captain of the club.

As he should've been already..

[ReLoad]

Welcome aboard Luke, lead us unto the promised land.

Fingers crossed he doesn't get shafted like the last bloke.

[Smads57]

Best of luck in the senior coaching game Luke - looking forward to going the journey with you. (Impressive presser.....).

[whythelongface]

Congrats Luke on your appointment. Looking forward to the journey and the success your tenure will bring to our beloved Bulldogs (no pressure).

[Greystache]

I was pretty underwhelmed when I heard Luke was the front runner for the job, but now he has the job he has my unconditional support. God luck Luke.

On a side note, a former player I know that played on him a few times said pound for pound he's the strongest player he ever played on. That can't be a bad thing.

[Dry Rot]

I was pretty underwhelmed when I heard Luke was the front runner for the job, but now he has the job he has my unconditional support. God luck Luke.

On a side note, a former player I know that played on him a few times said pound for pound he's the strongest player he ever played on. That can't be a bad thing.

He looks like a tough bastard.

From his presser, I like the cut of his jib.

[HOSE B ROMERO]

Welcome back to the kennel Bonox.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

On a side note, a former player I know that played on him a few times said pound for pound he's the strongest player he ever played on. That can't be a bad thing.

Looks fit enough to still be playing!

[Chicago1]

"I like the boy!" <-- Remember that response? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtxB0Kh0BCY

I was kind of "meh" about him at first, until I read up on his achievements over the years. Very glad he was chosen.

[jeemak]

Good luck Luke.

I think some underrate his pedigree as a senior coach before coming into the AFL assistant coaching ranks. His C grade flag in the ammo's was about par with what B-Mac achieved as a senior coach, while his B grade flag put him a bit in front of it. Securing an A Grade flag on top of those two consecutively puts him miles ahead. It's one of if not the best competitions in the state aside from VFL, and he nailed it year on year.

Most of the favoured assistant coaches (when coaching jobs come up for grabs - Leon Cameron is a good example) don't have that sort of experience behind them.

I'm still in wait and see mode. So, I suppose I'll just wait and see how he goes.

[LostDoggy]

I agree, one thing I can't understand is the actual level of VAFA they won at? When I played it was in divisions not grades, does the A grade title he speaks of equate to the Premiers division?

Good luck Luke, if anything it seems we've got ourselves a genuine bloke.

[chef]

Welcome aboard Luke, lead us unto the promised land.

Fingers crossed he doesn't get shafted like the last bloke.

Yep, he needs a strong number 2 and a director of coaching or he'll struggle like the last bloke.

[EasternWest]

I was pretty underwhelmed when I heard Luke was the front runner for the job, but now he has the job he has my unconditional support. God luck Luke.

On a side note, a former player I know that played on him a few times said pound for pound he's the strongest player he ever played on. That can't be a bad thing.

He looks like a legit 'ard bastard. I like it.

I hope he does well. I'm not concerned about him being untried at the top level. Diamonds have to come from the rough, maybe we'll be lucky enough to have the next Clarkson success story?

Anyway, I'm glad it's done and our club can focus on being a club again.

[F'scary]

I actually like the fact that he played for us for 3 seasons in the mid 90's.

[soupman]

I agree, one thing I can't understand is the actual level of VAFA they won at? When I played it was in divisions not grades, does the A grade title he speaks of equate to the Premiers division?

Good luck Luke, if anything it seems we've got ourselves a genuine bloke.
Correct, it now goes:
Premier A
Premier B
Premier C
D1
D2
D3
D4

[F'scary]

He also made the Greek AFL Team of the Century. Maternal Grandfather is the connection.

[BornInDroopSt'54]

Welcome to the beverage Mr Kennel.

[Twodogs]

He also made the Greek AFL Team of the Century. Maternal Grandfather is the connection.

I knew there was an unusual fact about him tucked away at the back of my head.. Cheers FS it's been kind of bothering me since he was first bought up in discussions.

[bornadog]

He also made the Greek AFL Team of the Century. Maternal Grandfather is the connection.

Eastie would like that.

[I'm Not Bitter Anymore!]

Welcome to the beverage Mr Kennel.

No more for you

[WBFC4FFC]

Like the fact his game-style is dependant on the squad's strength and weaknesses. This is what all the great coaches do, adapt to what you have, as opposed to imposing a game-plan that may not be best suited for the squad and hence, overall results.

[firstdogonthemoon]

Good press conference so that is something. I don't know about his footy but he has a great head. Looking forward to not drawing him very well next year.

[josie]

Congrats & Welcome back Mr B.

Looking forward to 2015 pre-season.

[F'scary]

Like the fact his game-style is dependant on the squad's strength and weaknesses. This is what all the great coaches do, adapt to what you have, as opposed to imposing a game-plan that may not be best suited for the squad and hence, overall results.

This could be a big point of difference with Macca's approach.

[Twodogs]

Good press conference so that is something. I don't know about his footy but he has a great head. Looking forward to not drawing him very well next year.


Have you given much thought as to what sort of animal he will be? He'd be a great Lion with the hair and all but that's a bit Brissy.

[Maddog37]

Have you given much thought as to what sort of animal he will be? He'd be a great Lion with the hair and all but that's a bit Brissy.

He looks like Quagmire.

[bulldogtragic]

He looks like Quagmire.

:) - I just looked at photo again. Yep, very close to shirt pants.

[LostDoggy]

Good press conference so that is something. I don't know about his footy but he has a great head. Looking forward to not drawing him very well next year.

What about Arnie's-CONAN?!?!?

[Webby]

Good press conference so that is something. I don't know about his footy but he has a great head. Looking forward to not drawing him very well next year.

The first thing my wife said upon seeing him was "His neck's the same width as his head!"
Bit of a rugby league shape to him.

[boydogs]

"His neck's the same width as his head!"

http://hdfons.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Rocky-Balboa-Wallpaper-.jpg

http://resources0.news.com.au/images/2014/07/29/1227005/944492-a727ed4c-16dc-11e4-9008-27f67b099eee.jpg

[F'scary]

Uncanny. Sylvester Beveridge.

[Twodogs]

http://hdfons.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Rocky-Balboa-Wallpaper-.jpg

http://resources0.news.com.au/images/2014/07/29/1227005/944492-a727ed4c-16dc-11e4-9008-27f67b099eee.jpg



Rocky would be a great nickname.

[Daughter of the West]

Welcome to the kennel coach!

[Bulldog4life]

Bevo on Triple M this morning.

https://audioboom.com/boos/2656152-luke-beveridge-on-triple-m-monday-17-november-2014

[Throughandthrough]

Me too. Lead us out of the wilderness Luke (no pressure)


winner post!

[Greystache]

He looks like a legit 'ard bastard. I like it.

I hope he does well. I'm not concerned about him being untried at the top level. Diamonds have to come from the rough, maybe we have the next Clarkson?

Anyway, I'm glad it's done and our club can focus on being a club again.

Bump and EFA :D

[EasternWest]

Bump and EFA :D

Wow. Not often I'm right. Thanks Stache.

"Diamonds have to come from the rough" - what a wanker!

[bornadog]

Bevo Playing days here (https://shar.es/1Is8cp)

[Bulldog4life]

I loved reading this article.

Western Bulldogs coach-to-be Luke Beveridge is a man who punches well above his weight

MARK Robinson went searching for the man considered most likely to be the next coach of the Western Bulldogs and found a man who punches well above his weight.

THE TEAMMATE — David Schwarz

IT IS folklore, and Luke Beveridge was just 22 at the time, but David Schwarz says a punch-up with Essendon players on an end-of-season in Cairns in 1992 is a lasting memory for Melbourne teammates.

Schwarz and Beveridge had played under-19s, reserves and seniors at the Demons, and although Beveridge would leave at the end of ‘92 for Footscray, Schwarz said he went out with a bang.

The brawl began at a bar and spilled outside and it wasn’t a simple push and shove.

Plastic chairs were being thrown as well as drunken fists and Beveridge was front and square against the likes of Mark Harvey and Dean Wallis.

At just 173cm and 79kg, Beveridge was out of his weight division.

Read more

at http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/western-bulldogs-coachtobe-luke-beveridge-is-a-man-who-punches-well-above-his-weight/news-story/cbefe20f040febe8f71a1a2da23e1837

[Danny the snakeman]

I loved reading this article.

[/url]

A great read especially all the comments from the HS readers, some people with a big case of egg on their faces there.

[choconmientay]

This article from TheRoar post GF about Bevo has not been posted on WOOF.

LINK - Beveridge’s brilliance the big thing behind Bulldogs’ success (http://www.theroar.com.au/2016/10/02/beveridges-brilliance-big-thing-behind-bulldogs-success/)

The best moment of the 2016 Grand Final came after the final siren.

When Luke Beveridge handed his Jock McHale Medal to injured captain Robert Murphy, it was iconic. If you somehow weren’t crying prior to that, it was the exact moment your eyes started watering up.

It was symbolic of what makes Beveridge, the Coach of the Year winner for two consecutive seasons, so special. His colossal love for his players and humility trumps any of the game plans, as impressive as they are, that he can draw up.

“The fact our group stay calm under enormous pressure, but they play with flair and freedom. Today was amazing,” Beveridge said postgame.

The reason the Bulldogs play with those qualities is Beveridge.

As beautiful and moving as it was to see him give his medal to Murphy, this one belongs to Beveridge. He won’t admit it because it isn’t in his nature, but Luke, it’s ok – you can indulge in this victory.

All premierships are momentous. Some hold something a little bit more special, though, an intangible that can’t be measured. The narrative of the Bulldogs’ flag is the stuff of dreams – breaking a 62-year premiership drought against the most insurmountable of odds. Even beyond that, though, there is something extra about this victory and it stems from Beveridge.

Watching Beveridge cry in media conferences after the devastating news of another one of his soldiers being lost to injury represents an affection that isn’t seen anywhere else. It’s that emotion that makes the Bulldogs everyone’s second team. It shows this is more than a job to Beveridge – it’s what makes his world go ‘round.

Beveridge walked into the worst situation a coach could ask for two years ago. Turmoil in the boardroom, a departed captain, a list seemingly void of A-grade talent and a new, unproven and highly scrutinised million-dollar man in uniform.

It was a rebuild that was meant to take years, probably even a rebuild that would outlast Beveridge’s stint in the main chair. That’s how most rebuilds go, with clubs like Melbourne and Brisbane evidence of that. Inheriting a team that finished 14th the season before with a measly seven wins – patience was a necessity when talking about Beveridge’s job.

However, a stellar finals run in 2015 was just a sneak peak at the magic that unfolded this season, culminating in the most spectacular of grand final victories.

Beveridge is the man of the hour. His uncanny ability to get his boys to believe and play with a special sense of energy, determination, fight, hunger and ferocity speaks of a coach that the players respect beyond the Xs and Os.

It is an attribute that turns Tom Boyd and Zaine Cordy, suspended for a physical altercation mid-season, into premiership heroes. A belief that drives his players to continue to play hard, despite an unfair injury list. A coaching masterstroke that gets the best out of fringe players Liam Picken and Clay Smith, and that elevates the likes of Lachie Hunter and Easton Wood to new levels.

It would have been easy for Beveridge to mail it in and reject the Bulldogs’ offer two years ago. Why would anyone want to take on such a daunting challenge, when greener pastures presented at 17 other clubs?

That isn’t who Beveridge is, though. He is a dreamer, like the thousands of Dogs fans who dared to do such a thing after 1954. And now Beveridge has turned those dreams into reality, one that drowns out the memories of previous heartache.

Enjoy it, Bevo. You deserve it more than most.

[Twodogs]

A great read especially all the comments from the HS readers, some people with a big case of egg on their faces there.


I just couldn't resist adding one:

819


Oh for the love of Mike. If I click on it it shows the image in full.

[whythelongface]

Two years ago today that the messiah was appointed as our head coach. Happy anniversary Luke hope you have enjoyed your time at our club:) May there be many many more years to come. You have already gone done in bulldog folklore as a legend.

[comrade]

Two years ago today that the messiah was appointed as our head coach. Happy anniversary Luke hope you have enjoyed your time at our club:) May there be many many more years to come. You have already gone done in bulldog folklore as a legend.

Nice. The best thing to have happened to the club in the last 60 years.

[bulldogtragic]

Two years ago today that the messiah was appointed as our head coach. Happy anniversary Luke hope you have enjoyed your time at our club:) May there be many many more years to come. You have already gone done in bulldog folklore as a legend.

Id love to be in his HR Department performance review.

HR Manager: So you've been here two years now Luke. You've taken a low team to a two thirds win ratio. You've seen increased membership and TV and sponsorship interest. You've been in finals both years and won the premiership this year. In your moment of glory, you gave your medal to Bob. You've seen our style get a lot of Friday night games next year, our first blockbuster game and our revenue increase. So, Luke, would you rate your performance? Very bad, bad, OK, good or very good? What are your weaknesses and how will you improve your organisational output going ahead?

[Greystache]

What has he done for us lately? :p

[westdog54]

Can still remember how vehemently one of my mates at work cursed this decision when it happened.

Sadly he moved to another office a year ago so I haven't been able to remind him about it.

[Twodogs]

Can still remember how vehemently one of my mates at work cursed this decision when it happened.

Sadly he moved to another office a year ago so I haven't been able to remind him about it.


What were his objections?

[westdog54]

What were his objections?

Couldn't understand why we'd gone with an untried/unproven coach given where we were at.

[AndrewP6]

Couldn't understand why we'd gone with an untried/unproven coach given where we were at.

That wasn't me, but pretty much my thoughts at the time. I'm happy to admit I was horribly, horribly wrong!!

[Twodogs]

Couldn't understand why we'd gone with an untried/unproven coach given where we were at.


I could see where he was coming from but the amount of premierships that Bevo was involved in had me interested. He just came from nowhere in the search for a coach too.

In fact it was a pretty ballsy decision at the time. The appointment of an unproven coach could have gone tits up for so many reasons.

[soupman]

Couldn't understand why we'd gone with an untried/unproven coach given where we were at.

Although how many proven coaches lately have proven worth it?

The last few Premiership coaches are: Beveridge, Clarkson, Longmire and Scott. All coaches at their first (and only) club they've coached. Prior to that Clarkson features again, along with Malthouse, Worsfold, Roos and Mark Williams.

So just one premiership coach since 2003 had a stint coaching another club prior, and almost all had success within 2 or 3 years of being appointed.

From my pov an unproven coach while riskier gives you a much better chance of finding a gameplan that can exploit the competition instead of a rehashed gameplan that is quickly outdated.

I can see merit in wanting an experienced coach to lift us from where we were post-BMac, but you wouldn't have wanted to hang onto them any longer than 2 years. And if you were looking for them to take you to success you don't want a discard who was uncontracted (which is what we would have done), but rather you'd want to be poaching one of the best handful in the game.

[choconmientay]

Found this article about Luke leadership style while randomly reading the internet.


http://readwriterespond.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/30045838051_804857c6fc.jpg

Luke Beveridge and the Decisions of a Servant Leader, Aaron Davis (http://readwriterespond.com/?p=2620)

https://farm9.static.flickr.com/8790/30045838051_804857c6fc.jpg

In a recent post, Paul Browning reflected on leadership and the act of decision making. He outlines four categories:


The controller
The pleaser
The procrastinator
The consultor


Thinking about his own practice, Browning suggests that too often he is a pleaser. Although this may keep people happy, Browning points out that it does not necessarily build trust in the same way as when someone consults. However, on the weekend this was somewhat challenged with Luke Beveridge’s decision to handover his medal during the AFL Grand Final.

https://media.giphy.com/media/ChRdYKjfNPrWM/giphy.gif


There has been a lot said about Luke Beveridge over the last few days. He surfs, cuts his own hair, sings his own songs, even occasionally gets around on a skateboard. However, the moment that will forever be marked on my memory will be when he took off the Jock McHale Medal, a reward given to the winning coach, and gave it to Robert Murphy. This was a symbolic gesture, to give the medal to a player at heart and soul of the club, who after years of tireless service was struck down earlier this year with a knee injury. Stuck on the sidelines, he has been a visible presence in the coaches box each game. Although it was Beveridge’s medal and no one would question that he earnt it, in the spur of a moment he made the decision to be selfless, another member of the club, so as to please the masses.

To me, this is epitomises the notion of servant leadership. Although some talk about servant leadership as taking responsibility for the worst jobs, to me it is also about using any and every opportunity give back so as to build up the whole. The Mind Tools site describes it as follows:


As a servant leader, you’re a “servant first” – you focus on the needs of others, especially team members, before you consider your own. You acknowledge other people’s perspectives, give them the support they need to meet their work and personal goals, involve them in decisions where appropriate, and build a sense of community within your team. This leads to higher engagement, more trust, and stronger relationships with team members and other stakeholders.

This was summed up in an interview with one of the teams veterans who when asked whether it was the coach that the team played for he responded saying that it was actually for each other.

This ‘team first’ mindset was also demonstrated when after the game Marcus Bontempillis poured a container of sports drink over the coach in the midst of an interview. It could be easy to perceive such an act as arrogance or immaturity, or maybe a homage to NFL. Yet what it said to me was that from the coach down everyone was in it together.

https://i.sli.mg/dTkJ3H.jpg
(Added to this article by choco to illustrate the above sentence)

We talk about flat and agile structures, yet sometimes leaders are unwilling to relinquish the power and control. Although consulting others when making decisions can help build trust across the board, there are times when decisions need to be made and it is often these moments that leave the greatest mark. For in the end, action creates culture one choice at a time.

[westdog54]

I could see where he was coming from but the amount of premierships that Bevo was involved in had me interested. He just came from nowhere in the search for a coach too.

In fact it was a pretty ballsy decision at the time. The appointment of an unproven coach could have gone tits up for so many reasons.

Putting aside his lack of top level experience though, his record in the Ammos should have, at a minimum, got the club thinking that he knew how to generate success.

Add in his experience in Hawthorn's system and all of a sudden it doesn't seem like such a ballsy decision.

[Twodogs]

Putting aside his lack of top level experience though, his record in the Ammos should have, at a minimum, got the club thinking that he knew how to generate success.

Add in his experience in Hawthorn's system and all of a sudden it doesn't seem like such a ballsy decision.

It's certainly an impressive record of success.

[bornadog]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C5UrMbeVcAA5Eli.jpg:large

[ratsmac]

I found this on facebook which I from the article above.

WESTERN Bulldogs premiership coach Luke Beveridge sits down with Mark Robinson to talk life, family, footy and the wisdom of Willy Wonka.
Mark Robinson: I’m going to try discover the mystique of Luke Beveridge. Will I find what I’m looking for?
Luke Beveridge: I don’t think so. What you see is what you get with me.
MR : Do you laugh when people say “there’s something about Luke Beveridge”?
LB: I don’t know if I laugh, but I feel very fortunate because the reason why people ask that question is, as a coach, I’ve been fortunate to have success. I do wonder at times, with all the sliding doors along the way, why I’m so blessed. When those doors slide, a lot of times as a coach they have slid in my favour and our favour wherever I’ve been. Maybe I’m in the right place at the right time all the time.
THE DOG FATHER II - OCCHY AND ALIENS, BALBOA AND BRENDAN (McCARTNEY). ONLY IN YOUR SATURDAY HERALD SUN AND AT SUPERFOOTY
MR: It’s got to be more than fortunate to be in the right place, right time as many times as you have been.
LB: People talk a lot about leadership. As a coach, we are a manager of people as much as a coach and I do that with a pretty strong conscience. Whether you’re a manager or a worker at the bottom of the hierarchy, if you do everything with a strong conscience and you influence other people, I think that becomes contagious and I think it reaches critical mass at a point where you can be a successful outfit. And I think that’s happened. I’ve been fortunate to work with people who have already got that base level of conscientiousness and we’ve worked together well. That’s the root of it all. How you implement that working environment is a challenge.
MR: Everyone asks about the influence your dad John (long-time St Kilda recruiter) had on your life. But what influence did your mum, Rosa, have on you?
LB: More than anyone else in my life. She taught me unconditional love. That it doesn’t matter what other people do who are close to you, as long as you love them. And if you want to nurture that, then you’ve got to think before you speak and think before you act. You know, growing up, we didn’t have a lot but what we did have was her love and guidance. She’s a strong lady, she was the rock.
MR: How many in the family?
LB: Four kids. I’m third in line. Yeah, Dad was interesting. I always think, for him, he had two kids too many. He could cope with two, three was too many and four tipped him over the edge. There was a real discipline in the way he fathered and that was important for me, but he had low tolerance.
MR: Are you intolerant?
LB: No. I’m the opposite. I probably got it from Mum.
MR: How much has that helped with your ability to be patient with people, find time for people and clearly have an ability to get in contact with a person’s soul, if that’s the right word?
LB: I have a genuine care and love for people. When I meet someone, I like them before anything. The only reason I would dislike someone is if they do something to me or against me unsolicited, where I haven’t deserved it and they had no right to do it. Then I’m probably like an elephant with a thorn in its foot, I remember it for a long time. But I start from a base level that I like you and you have to do something pretty wrong not
MR: You had a rage in you as a young bloke, an aggressive streak and it led to street fights. Did part of your character push you to defend those who couldn’t defend themselves?
LB: At the time it was that, but to put it simply, I try to stand up for what’s right. There was a time when I had to be physical a few times, actually quite a few times growing up. Normally it’s verbally these days and I hope that I never had to do that again. We grew up in what you consider a pretty docile suburb in East Bentleigh, but at the time there was a lot going on in the streets. There was even a drug culture around the place. There was a great rivalry amongst kids at different schools, different junior clubs and at times that manifested into some physical confrontation.
MR: Do you look back and think, ‘Gee I’m a role model now, that was not good’. Or do you look back and think you were a role model for sticking up for people who couldn’t stick up for themselves?
LB: I don’t regret it. Part of the time was sticking up for other people, but quite a few times it was just sticking up for me. I didn’t instigate things. There was tension, some friction and I’m not sure what it was borne out of. But there were confrontations where I had to stand my ground.
MR: Marcus Bontemeplli said recently you were a funny man. He said the coach thought he was funny, but that you were actually “awkward funny’. True?
LB: (Laughs). Am I funny? I’ve got a strong sense of humour. I love a gag. Actually we’ve got comedian Luke Heggie coming to a function shortly. I recently saw Luke on Foxtel and I thought he was really funny. And Peter Gordon asked me the other day have I got any recommendations and I said why don’t you try Luke Heggie, I reckon he would sensational. We have an unofficial season launch at the Gordons and Luke will be there and it’s all on me.
MR: From watching a late-night show on Foxtel.
LB: Yep. I ran out of jokes about the first six weeks of my tenure at the Dogs, so I have to rely on the boys to tell a gag here and there. Now I’ve become a joke critic and then that becomes funny at times. That’s maybe the awkwardness.
MR: You tell jokes to the players minutes before they leave the rooms to play don’t you?
LB: I lighten the mood at times. We all function in different ways and this new generation seems to function better with the edge off a little bit and you have to find a way to do that. I spend about 15 minutes with the players icing what our plans are for the day and we might start off with a lighter moment. Not always, but pretty regularly.
MR: And you once watched Will Wonka and the Chocolate Factory on a Friday night and incorporated it into your speech to the players the next day?
LB: You find yourself up late watching late-night movies. I don’t go to bed early, I rarely go to bed before midnight. What I’ll do at times is work and I might have the telly on.
MR: You like watching movies?
LB: I love watching movies.
MR: And you watched Willy Wonka and used it in the pre-match the next day?
LB: I did ... it was about honesty.
MR: When Charlie gave back the gobstopper and no one knew?
LB: No, Slugworth knew.
MR: So, you asked who was going to be honest that day?
LB: It wasn’t a question, more validation. We had honesty in the room. Depending on how emotional you are and your range, that little scene in the movie is one of the most heart-wrenching moments I’ve ever seen on TV. It was such fantasy, such a fiction and I remember as a kid that it had an affect on me. When I think of our players and how honest they’ve been and are — and I don’t talk about myself as a storyteller — but when you start to tell the story, you’ve got to relate it to what you’re doing and your own group. Ultimately, the premise of that story was that we have a core of honesty and that’s why we’re on the right track.
MR: Clearly you’re an arm around a player far more than you are putting a player in a headlock to get your message across.
LB: I think it relates to the choices you make as a coach and as a decision-maker around players’ futures. Ultimately, they’re going to finish up in the game or not get a game and we make a choice whether or not we’re prepared to get close to them, because at some point we’re going to have to have a hard conversation. Will it be easier to have a hard conversation if you’ve distanced yourself from them? In many ways yes because you don’t feel like you’ve got that connection. I made the choice very early on, and it’s the way I am and it started at St Bede’s, that I would be close to my players. It’s up to them about how close they want to feel to me, but I feel close to them.
MR: How do you find time for so many individuals in your life?
LB: A big part of it is just staying out of their hair. A big part is not doing anything. They don’t want - I don’t believe - an overbearing personality. I’m not taking them out for coffee and having lunch with them every second day. I don’t do that. It’s just the connection when you see each other and the consistency in the your behaviour, that’s all you need. So, it doesn’t really have to be time consuming.
MR: An hour after you were on stage on Grand Final night singing “Western Bulldogs ... at the weekend” with your great mates, I walked out with you and despite the Bulldogs winning their first flag since ‘54, all you wanted to talk about was our good mate Bruno Conti, who was the VAFA pres when St Bede’s won the three flags. I thought that was an example of you finding time for a person, which you are known for.
LB: I don’t see myself as any different to anyone else. People have asked have I refocused on this year, is there going to be a premiership hangover? But there’s internal and external. Internally, we’re working for the footy club and we’re on a new journey again. But when you and I were walking down Southbank that night, I was external. We were talking about life and who we knew and six degrees of separation and I love that sort of stuff. The only time it gets hard for me is if there’s a lot of people who need your time and I just haven’t got the time. But I love catching up with people talking about people, in this case Bruno
MR: Do you remember Grand Final day vividly from the moment you woke up to the moment you hit the sack?
LB: I wouldn’t say vividly. My memory of most days isn’t that vivid. I’ve spoken to others and they don’t agree in their own world, but the game went fast. It was like time never stood still. It ticked by so quickly. That last seven minutes when we started to get a gap was the only time - and there was no respite - but it was the only time you could start to process what was actually happening.
MR: You told the players in the pre-game on Grand Final day to “bring their instruments”. What was the messaging there?
LB: It was two things. I related a story from when I worked for an auctioneer years ago, a receivership-liquidation house, which wasn’t always nice. When they knocked down the Southern Cross Hotel, the auction house I was working at pulled out a lot of the furniture they were going to sell. And the hotel still had the stars and the names on the doors from when the Beatles stayed (in 1964). All of them, John, Paul, Ringo and George. I remember thinking, I should buy one of these doors. And, to the players, I was talking about the Grand Final parade and there were so many people and they were there to see us. And as they walked up the race on Grand Final day, I said there’s going to be 100,000 people there ready to see them. And the only way they were going to perform and be creative is if they thought about their strengths, which is their instruments, and they needed to being them.
MR: And the players were the Beatles?
LB: The Beatles did go on some sort of parade down Melbourne’s streets and because it was foreign territory for me - I had never been on a Grand Final parade - I have to say I felt special. I was blown away. Because the Swans colours blended into ours, it was like everyone there was a Western Bulldogs sorority and fraternity. When we saw the masses down Wellington Parade to the MCG it was incredible. I told the players I imagined they probably felt like the Beatles. We virtually felt, in a sense, like rock stars because of all the support. What was there, 200,000? Amazing.

https://external-syd2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/safe_image.php?d=AQDEvy7UBO4jBKkh&w=476&h=249&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcdn.newsapi.com.au%2Fimage%2Fv1%2F06c25d96b b9f39e5f352ed13c261a623&cfs=1&upscale=1&sx=0&sy=9&sw=650&sh=340&_nc_hash=AQDYD5sDBpyV-fxa

(http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/teams/western-bulldogs/luke-beveridge-opens-up-on-life-family-football-and-the-wisdom-of-willy-wonka/news-story/76697c9af452f72b004b1234dc5d7a6a)
‘I try to stand up for what’s right’ (https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.heraldsun.com.au%2Fsport%2Fafl%2Fte ams%2Fwestern-bulldogs%2Fluke-beveridge-opens-up-on-life-family-football-and-the-wisdom-of-willy-wonka%2Fnews-story%2F76697c9af452f72b004b1234dc5d7a6a&h=ATM-Kc25ZyQVVXqeS96x0VKSsEPFOIdCfRy7IydRVm2qO_zN8L_M0O3ewZbnFof1 J9wr-Sj77aX60ZaQHMyrRc18hLDkoEi5dzCM9KGDLJI-YHoPP7n-jP-XI0da8ct_49Q&enc=AZP3JfSd1DKOETS7qh_xSmtHALln8y68fkwD4QkYYTm9C13Wm3YaiIvU hqNVvyjkWILNbw_vEORxiO5UNJmoaVAv6MeoqYyv48WN3M2YkRiQTyJCDANk iK5gz4Hh73vWEz3UYDTs_cA53p1yJkTQ4OISRqJ_UVz5V2R5KpwBwwMzI9aD 3AdWCfqzozETUwLDwJ8&s=1)
WESTERN Bulldogs premiership coach Luke Beveridge sits down with Mark Robinson to talk life, family, footy and the wisdom of Willy Wonka.
WWW.HERALDSUN.COM.AU

[josie]

Thanks Ratsmac. Not a fan of the HS however this is a good read. In the word's of Suzanne Vega, our beloved Bevo is "If you want me you can find me, Left of center off of the strip".

[ratsmac]

Part Il.

IN part two of Mark Robinson’s wide-ranging chat with Luke Beveridge, the Bulldogs’ premiership coach talks Brendan McCartney, season 2017, Donald Trump and alien life.

Mark Robinson: Does your ability to coach the technical side of football get underplayed because of your ability to get in the heads of players collectively and individually?

Luke Beveridge: I’m not sure if it gets underplayed. I read some commentary where people are quite complimentary about how we play. The 18-man defence and the 18-man offence and a total change in stoppage structure is your base point there. That’s the core of what we do. The emotional hooks have to complement that, but it’s only a small percentage. But I believe it’s important. It’s a hard part of coaching the game because it’s a challenge to stay original.

MR: Because those “hooks” can be accused of being gimmicks sometimes.

LB: Absolutely. You can tip it over the edge and maybe the gobstopper (story) was. I try not to take too big a risk in that regard. But you can’t under sell what held us in good stead last year. Even as lower scoring as we were, and I’m not a big quantitative guy, I’m all about the subjective side, but black and white we were second in inside 50 differential in the competition, which is a great indicator you’ve got method.

MR: But 15th on differential for scoring once inside 50.

LB: I know we had problems, but it’s too simple to say the Bulldogs can’t score. We used to scratch our heads, the players did too, and we tried not to show too much of it because it was frustrating. Just opportunity after opportunity missed when they should’ve been a soda goal. Getting back to your original question, the core of what we do we have a really firm hold of and the underpinning or overlaying of emotion is only small part, but a critical part. I think you’ve got to find a way to find inspiration from within and if you can’t, you’re going to find it hard to be a successful outfit. And we’ve found a way to do that pretty quickly.

Some of those internal inspirations came through wins, like the Sydney win in 2015, because that instils belief and it’s part of the storyline. And our camps have been quite crucial in our process, some of our team building has been a real catalyst for our momentum. Our players were able to establish things that are quite powerful that are unique to us which will go beyond 2017.

MR: You trust people until the trust is broken, yeah?

LB: I give people chances. There’s trust and there’s honesty. You can still make mistakes, we all do, but it’s when they are intentionally going against the greater good, you start to question.

MR: That’s a segue. Did the Michael Talia situation, where there was investigation into passing on of information from brother to brother, did that hurt your trust in a) Michael Talia and b) the AFL?

LB: (Pause) ... I’d rather not go there. I don’t want to drum that part up again.

MR : By your answer, we got the answer anyway.

LB: Yeah. It was a significant learning curve for me. New to my role, new to my ...

MR: Dealings with the AFL?

LB: Yep.

MR: Are you able to park that because if you don’t it will eat away at you?

LB: Yeah. I understand the landscape. I don’t agree with it sometimes. City Hall is an enormously powerful regulator and I understand that.

MR: Are you a politically curious person?

LB: No. I’d rather attach myself to leaders than political parties and out of great leaders come good policies. But I understand the politics of administration because I’ve worked for government agencies. I’ve seen it right in my face.

MR: That the brand is more important that everything?

LB: Yeah, there’s a bit of that. It’s also the power. The hierarchy of an organisation and whether or not there are controls in place in decision-making is always interesting to me. Where do they actually get made? You don’t understand at times the drivers behind certain change.

MR: You’re biting your tongue here aren’t you?

LB: Yeah. There’s too many others things that happened that are not related to what happened at the end of 2015 with us. Look at the rule changes. The third-up change. The only valid reason for change is it’s easier for the umpires to umpire the game. So many of us are still scratching our heads. But we find new ways to evolve.

MR: Tim Watson said you are potentially the greatest coach the game has produced. Did you hear that? How do you respond to that?

LB: Tim Watson said that? He’s put the mozz on me hasn’t he.

MR: You’ve coached for two years.

LB: I like to include my amateur days. It’s 10 years I’ve been coaching.

MR: And how many premierships again?

LB: Three at St Bede’s, one at Collingwood, two at Hawthorn and now one at the Dogs. Seven out of nine years ... 2011, I was with amateur rep teams. As I said, I’ve been fortunate.

MR: Do you know Brendan McCartney very well?

LB: No. But I’ve met Brendan.

MR: Do you like it, agree with it, when it is said McCartney instilled a brand of football which helped the Dogs win the flag. Do you give him any credit?

LB: It’s interesting isn’t it that everyone wants to assign credit ... as long as we don’t dilute the credit Joel Corey and Rohan Smith and Daniel Giansiracusa and all of our other people should get. There’s only 18 players left from 2014, but I think if you ask the players, Brendan would’ve had some positive influence. How you quantify that, I don’t know.

MR: Are you annoyed I asked that question?

LB: Not at all. I have great respect for Brendan, especially his Geelong days. A lot of Geelong players have been quite vocal about his impact on them. But there’s been so much change at our club, but ultimately you can’t be the best team in the competition if you’re not good at contested footy.

MR: Which was a strength of McCartney’s. And his stoppage beliefs.

LB: Were different to mine. The numbers game, very different.

MR : The outnumber?

LB: I’d rather not go into detail but you can safely say our whole stoppage structure changed at the end of 2014. That doesn’t mean your intent around the footy changes and it doesn’t mean at times you don’t put numbers through various mechanisms. But I think one of the critical choices coaches make is how many forwards they want forward of the stoppage and that’s a significant thing we changed with us.

MR: This might be simplistic, but more an offensive system.

LB: It gave us more a chance to score, yes.

MR: You won the flag, you went to America with the family — Dana and the two boys Kye, 18, and Noah, 16. Were you able to shut out footy?

LB: Yes. We went to New York. We were very fortunate to go there the year before, but there just wasn’t enough time to get around the Big Apple. We walked everywhere. The boys love NBA so we saw a bit of basketball, saw the Jets play the Bills on New Year’s Day, saw the Rangers - which is my team - beat the Ottawa Senators on the ice and the Rangers are Bulldogs colours. And we saw a couple of plays on Broadway.

MR: Recognised?

LB: It was funny. You’d have your beanie on and you’d get a tap on the shoulder and they say, ‘G’day, go Doggies’. It would’ve happened three or four times, say, walking down Seventh Ave. It was amazing. I loved it. And you’d stop for a chat and most often they weren’t Bulldogs supporters, they just loved the fact the Dogs won.

MR: On to football. What changes? How much does Cloke and Crameri change it up? Bob’s back. What have you changed, if anything?

LB: Initially you do your own SWAT analysis. What are your strengths, where can we improve, where are the opportunities, what are the threats and the opportunities is a big one for us. With the change in personnel, with Stu and Clokey and everyone being a year older.

MR: It might fix up that inside 50 differential.

LB: Who knows. I said a long time ago it will be the last piece of the puzzle. Strangely, in that last month we were able to be more efficient. This year, we see what the opportunities are. We’ve trained a certain way to be able to play the way that we do and we feel we’ve done some good work there. If you ask about our core method or core style, we feel we haven’t taken that to where it can go. And with Bob back, Matty Suckling back in the fold, it gives us options, gives us even more versatility.

MR: How important is versatility?

LB: Critical. We started last year with all those high defenders and at one point we didn’t have JJ, Suckers, Bob, so we had to change what we did. The low tide mark last year was probably that game against Geelong where they beat us down there. We played pretty good footy. Jack Macrae and Tom Liberatore had the responsibility of the main two Cats players and were sensational before they got injured. When we dropped that game, having lost Mitch Wallis and Jack Redpath the week before, and then losing Macrae and Libba that day, and knowing we were playing the Kangaroos the next week with our midfield so depleted and knowing they were going to go after Marcus Bontempelli ... how we stood up for ourselves remained to be seen. That win against the Kangaroos was probably the high tide mark of the year to get us back on track.

MR: And the rest became history.

THE OUTSIDERS, ROCKY & ME

MR : Favourite movie?

LB: The Outsiders. Have you read the book? Susan Hinton, a 17-year-old wrote that book. Just a great story. It probably relates to the question you asked me about when I was young and confrontation. Just that socio-economic side of it. The Greasers and Socs.

MR : Favourite animated movie?

LB: Toy Story.

MR: Do you believe aliens exist?

LB: Alien life (yes). I don’t know in what form. All you need is water.

MR: Donald Trump?

LB: I’m concerned.

MR: Dinner with five people?

LB: Mark Occhilupo, my favourite surfer as a kid. Nelson Mandela.

MR: I would’ve thought being a leader you’d opt for leaders.

LB: Mine’s more heroes. Ben Roberts-Smith VC, Cathy Freeman ... and my mum.

MR: Scared of dying?

LB: Not scared, but a long, long way from being ready.

MR: Skate-boarding or surfing?

LB: Surfing.

MR: Favourite animal?

LB: Lion.

MR: Smack children, yes or no.

LB: Preferably no.

MR: If you were reborn would do anything different.

LB: I’m happy, but there’s definitely things I would do differently. I wasn’t a great player, but as much as I survived, there are things I could’ve done to be a better player.

MR: If you died tomorrow, what would you regret not doing?

LB: There’s worldly things I want to do. I want to see the world. And I want to be a bit more charitable. In many ways it can be difficult because you’re seen as someone who can help with different causes, but you’re time poor, so you can’t do a lot. I think I’d like to do more.

MR: What makes you smile other than your bad jokes?

LB: Lots of things. I’m generally a happy person. Kids make me smile. My family. Mates who I grew up make me smile.

MR: If you had a year to live, what would you do?

LB: Spend as much time as I could with Dana, Kye and Noah. I would stop coaching.

MR: If you won $20 million tonight on Tattslotto, would you stop coaching?

LB: No. Because I’d let too many people down. I love the job and I love the connection I now have with the club that I didn’t have previously. And all the people who follow it and who work in the club. I have too much responsibility to walk away from that.

MR: What scares you?

LB: I’m not big on — and it’s ironic and sad right now — but light aircraft. Just those high-risk situations where you’ve got no control of and which can result in death. Sometimes if I’m sitting on the Westgate and it’s full of cars and trucks and it’s all banked up, I’m paranoid the bridge is going to fall down because of the weight. I’ve got no control over that. I lose faith in the bridge.

MR: Do you drink milk out of the carton?

LB: No.

MR: Happiest childhood memory?

LB: Holidays in Cronulla. Every year we’d stay three weeks and that’s where I first started surfing.

MR: What movie did you last cry watching.

LB: I cry all the time in movies. Just the other night ... it was Balboa, which was Rocky 6 or 7. Don’t you love that monologue in that movie _ “Sometimes it’s not how hard you’re hit, it’s how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.’’ It’s an amazing monologue.

MR: Have you used it?

LB: No, you can’t use it. It’s Rocky’s. And it’s one of the best ever.

[dukedog]

I love sifting through internet articles. I dont often read from books. If LB wrote a book. Id read it. The way he thinks from perspective appeals to me. I like to think its similar to how I go about my ways. Tho i probably only have 1/10th the nous of Bevo. What an interesting bloke!

[bornadog]

I love his comments about the previous coach. Puts to bed the BS people talk about in regard to learning contested footy.

[bulldogtragic]

I love his comments about the previous coach. Puts to bed the BS people talk about in regard to learning contested footy.

Beat me to it. Ditto.

[bornadog]

Beat me to it. Ditto.

Contested footy is nothing unless you have a plan.

Pre BMacc, under Rocket - we were in the top 2 or 3 for contess. poss.

[bulldogtragic]

Contested footy is nothing unless you have a plan.

Pre BMacc, under Rocket - we were in the top 2 or 3 for contess. poss.

As Bevo said, winning contested possessions in bigger numbers alone is not his philosophy. And that's all we did for the two BMac years. Play Minno as a single scrummer/ruck, play a couple of taggers, get everyone into the contest and then have nobody around to distribute it. The actual challenge which great teams do is to win contested footy as well as shut down opponents and still have the ability to have players who can distribute to commence attack from anywhere on the ground. That's what we've done for two years now, and that bears no semblance to the years before it. I liked Bevo's comments, not only because they're apt, but he and the 2015 & 2016 assistants deserve all the credit in my book.

It's interesting as a portrait, the culture of 2014 as told by many players and the media, and what the last two years has been like. Much happier footballers.

[dukedog]

Do you guys feel that if MR pushed him further. Or maybe off air. He may have elaborated on the talia thing. Something tells me that bevo had some serious plans last year. Unlike this finals series. There was a rat in 2015. Dunno. Just seems like he was really pissed.

[bulldogtragic]

Do you guys feel that if MR pushed him further. Or maybe off air. He may have elaborated on the talia thing. Something tells me that bevo had some serious plans last year. Unlike this finals series. Their was no rat. Dunno. Just seems like he was really pissed.

I've very briefly chatted to Bevo about it, about a year ago. I don't think Bevo would add fuel to the fire now, even if Robbo pushed him. He was upset then (and probably now) for the entire club, for the 40+ other players, our president, that finals series, for the fans, other unintended victims (Cheney etc) and the hurt that comes from when people burn your trust in a bad way, previously not seen in our code until then. The article shows Bevo to have a strong moral compass and sense of justice and with what happened, and it hurts so much more when there's such a betrayal. We've all moved on in the 18 months for the better (ex. MT) and so should the journos

Personally, Robbo shouldn't have gone back there after so much amazing stuff has happened in his two years, and no doubt Robbo knows what really/actually happened too. We cut MT loose to be a tool and guilty party drug possesser (during his rehab) in Sydney, and we used that draft pick to trade in Travis Cloke. Robbo should've been asking why and how Bevo thinks he can turn Trav around, and what role Bevo could use him for that Buckley hadn't. But in the world of lowest common denominator journalism, picking a scab gets more attention then interesting insights.

[ratsmac]

You gotta love Luke Beveridge don't you. He seems like a good human being. Always thinking of others, but don't cross him or him people with disrespect.

I also loved his response re McCartney. He gave credit where it belongs, to the current coaches.

I'm disappointed MR didn't ask him if he cuts his own hair :rolleyes:

[dukedog]

I've very briefly chatted to Bevo about it, about a year ago. I don't think Bevo would add fuel to the fire now, even if Robbo pushed him. He was upset then (and probably now) for the entire club, for the 40+ other players, our president, that finals series, for the fans, other unintended victims (Cheney etc) and the hurt that comes from when people burn your trust in a bad way, previously not seen in our code until then. The article shows Bevo to have a strong moral compass and sense of justice and with what happened, and it hurts so much more when there's such a betrayal. We've all moved on in the 18 months for the better (ex. MT) and so should the journos

Personally, Robbo shouldn't have gone back there after so much amazing stuff has happened in his two years, and no doubt Robbo knows what really/actually happened too. We cut MT loose to be a tool and guilty party drug possesser (during his rehab) in Sydney, and we used that draft pick to trade in Travis Cloke. Robbo should've been asking why and how Bevo thinks he can turn Trav around, and what role Bevo could use him for that Buckley hadn't. But in the world of lowest common denominator journalism, picking a scab gets more attention then interesting insights.

Very true mate. Well said.

[jeemak]

As Bevo said, winning contested possessions in bigger numbers alone is not his philosophy. And that's all we did for the two BMac years. Play Minno as a single scrummer/ruck, play a couple of taggers, get everyone into the contest and then have nobody around to distribute it. The actual challenge which great teams do is to win contested footy as well as shut down opponents and still have the ability to have players who can distribute to commence attack from anywhere on the ground. That's what we've done for two years now, and that bears no semblance to the years before it. I liked Bevo's comments, not only because they're apt, but he and the 2015 & 2016 assistants deserve all the credit in my book.

It's interesting as a portrait, the culture of 2014 as told by many players and the media, and what the last two years has been like. Much happier footballers.

You like Bevo's comments because you interpret them as a reinforcement of your beliefs. That I interpret them differently probably isn't a surprise to you.

There's something in his comments about list churn, and the way I read them is that McCartney left a contested football legacy with the players that remained and it made things easier for Bev and his coaching team. I've also had a few instances of people telling me that the former had a huge skills focus that was completely different from Rocket which developed the playing list quickly.

His defence of the impact the current coaching team had on the success of the group is perfectly understandable. How could he assign praise to the prevous coach in any sense, let alone over and above the praise he could give his own team?

Trying to read anything definitive into those comments is folly, it was text book straight bat with a little bit of opinion each way.

[bulldogtragic]

You like Bevo's comments because you interpret them as a reinforcement of your beliefs. That I interpret them differently probably isn't a surprise to you.

There's something in his comments about list churn, and the way I read them is that McCartney left a contested football legacy with the players that remained and it made things easier for Bev and his coaching team. I've also had a few instances of people telling me that the former had a huge skills focus that was completely different from Rocket which developed the playing list quickly.

His defence of the impact the current coaching team had on the success of the group is perfectly understandable. How could he assign praise to the prevous coach in any sense, let alone over and above the praise he could give his own team?

Trying to read anything definitive into those comments is folly, it was text book straight bat with a little bit of opinion each way.

Far too in depth for me. Can we pick this up again if we lose a couple of games and random poster throws this up as their first post in 12 months? Too much to look forward to right now to do an in depth retrospective, as well as the fact we have incongruent perspectives of those years.

The real issue is what this club has remarkably managed to do in under 2 years and the interview questions in this '2 part' 'in depth interview' are about BMac and Taheeya. Did Robbo run out of time to bring up Grphyone, or the fact we've had three CEO's in his short tenure at the club?

[Topdog]

I think that Bevo's background in the business World is a huge asset to him. Just love hearing him speak (or reading him in this case).

I hate that Robbo conducted this interview, guy is such a moron. Not surprising that Robbo mistook SWOT analysis for SWAT. Bevo mentioned Nelson Mandela and Robbo queries why he hasnt chosen a leader....

[The Pie Man]

Do you guys feel that if MR pushed him further. Or maybe off air. He may have elaborated on the talia thing. Something tells me that bevo had some serious plans last year. Unlike this finals series. There was a rat in 2015. Dunno. Just seems like he was really pissed.

The comment about people not knowing what's a driver behind certain decisions in government was interesting.

One could interpret that as a nod to the gambling can of worms a negative finding could've found the AFL opening.

[Twodogs]

I think that Bevo's background in the business World is a huge asset to him. Just love hearing him speak (or reading him in this case).

I hate that Robbo conducted this interview, guy is such a moron. Not surprising that Robbo mistook SWOT analysis for SWAT. Bevo mentioned Nelson Mandela and Robbo queries why he hasnt chosen a leader....

I had to read that three times. How could he be so stupid as to not know who Nelson Mandela was?

[Topdog]

I had to read that three times. How could he be so stupid as to not know who Nelson Mandela was?

LOL I did the same, read it 3 or 4 times and asked myself if maybe the interruption happened before he mentioned Mandela but in putting it in writing he messed up.... I guess we will never know :(

[Twodogs]

LOL I did the same, read it 3 or 4 times and asked myself if maybe the interruption happened before he mentioned Mandela but in putting it in writing he messed up.... I guess we will never know :(


That's the explanation I came up too. A sort of literary trick of the light. He was distracted when Bevo said Mandela the first time (a dog with a fluffy tale or a beer truck probably went past) or he took a couple of days between listening to the tapes. Nobody could be that stupid or they would forget to blink and their eyes would fall out or something.

[bornadog]

Now a Professor at VU

https://scontent-syd2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/17424657_768974676601047_3882662636150235861_n.jpg?oh=b1a853 d4bb11958d25ba41b91b26e0ac&oe=596315B3

link (http://www.westernbulldogs.com.au/news/2017-03-23/back-to-school-for-bevo)

Victoria University has today announced the appointment of Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge as an adjunct professor.


Beveridge will work on a number of activities related to the University’s various sport science, coach, and management courses and activities.


The third year coach said he was excited to contribute to the strengthening of ties between the Club and it’s long-time partner.


“The Club and Victoria University have a strong and healthy partnership and I’m honoured to be able to continue to develop that with this appointment, Beveridge told westernbulldogs.com.au following his appointment.


“I look forward to working alongside VU staff and students in the coming months and strengthening the Club’s relationship with Victoria University.”


VU Dean of the College of Sport and Exercise Science Hans Westerbeek said Luke’s many contributions to sport and beyond will be invaluable to it’s the University’s students and staff.


“There is no better way for students to engage in their chosen professions than by working with people at the top of their game such as Luke. The many perspectives on leadership and managing teams that Luke can bring to the table will offer staff – teachers and researchers – the opportunity to develop their own approaches to being leaders.”


“Adjunct professors are also ambassadors for VU. VU should be proud to count among its adjunct professors the coach and manager who brought Premiership pride back to the West, and in the process, surprised and delighted the rest of Australia with a brand of football and team spirit that captured the hearts of millions.


Australian Rules Football became so much more than a game on that Grand Final day in 2016.”

[Twodogs]

Interesting.

http://www.sportingnews.com/au/afl/news/afl-insider-even-the-best-dogs-bite-afl-australian-football-league-luke-beveridge-western-bulldogs/9etzy973mv971uft43p5mk63z

[Webby]

Insert Damian Barrett & 2015 Brownlow count.
Bit of a thinly veiled (and meek!) threat from the journo clique: "Behave or we'll go after you hard at the first opportunity."

Also implies that Beveridge needs to 'behave' as the Dogs need attention, exposure and money more than most....

...... Silly Bevo. Winning flags to boost exposure and revenue rather than kissing journos' arses..! Clearly needs to get his priorities right.

[1eyedog]

Ha ha who is this AFL Insider? I note they don't publish the author of the article for fear of being blacklisted by Bevo. Someone's not getting any Bevo love. Ah it's good to be the reigning premiers, wouldn't even be published if we were irrelevant and I don't think Bevo is the type of bloke that responds to threats, he's his own man and you take him as he is. There's no way PG would be saying go easy on the media and I think that's been proven with the Barrett issue.

And enough with the small club / poor club line, it's old hat already. We're perfectly happy with our member numbers and financial position at the moment, get used to it we are a force and will be for years to come.

Probably a Sydney Swans supporter.

[comrade]

Pretty sure Gordo is Luke Beveridge's biggest fan in the world. As if he's telling him to reign it in and break bread with Damien ****ing Barrett.

[bornadog]

Maybe the article was written by Barrett.

[Twodogs]

Maybe the article was written by Barrett.


I reckon it was. It's got a touch of sliding doors about it.

[Go_Dogs]

Loved his work in the press conference last night.

"Everyone's ambition is to finish in the top 2, and you set your sites on that, because then you're in full control, you get the home final, you know you get 2 chances. It would've been nice to finish there last year. *pause* oh no, we got in easy didn't we, because of the bye, yeah, that helped us out, I forgot about that"

Big whack with the velvet sledgehammer to everyone who talked trash about the bye helping us out. Loved it.

[bulldogsthru&thru]

Loved his work in the press conference last night.

"Everyone's ambition is to finish in the top 2, and you set your sites on that, because then you're in full control, you get the home final, you know you get 2 chances. It would've been nice to finish there last year. *pause* oh no, we got in easy didn't we, because of the bye, yeah, that helped us out, I forgot about that"

Big whack with the velvet sledgehammer to everyone who talked trash about the bye helping us out. Loved it.

Oh yeah. The jealousy that flows when you win a flag. So all those jealous types, the teams that they follow have no excuse but to win if they make the finals as there is now a week off. Oh wait, you say every team has that entitlement? Well now how can that be

[Twodogs]

I heard a paid commentater say on SEN that if we are going to have the bye then we may as well get rid of any advantage in the finals system. I don't know what sort of system he was advocating in its place. He didn't enlighten us on that.

Fair dinkum it's as if the other seven clubs all had to run marathons on the Nullarbor while we had a massage session with the Brazillian beach volleyball team on the bye weekend according to some experts.

[merantau]

Luke Beveridge conducts himself with absolute aplomb and honesty at his pressers. He is a really smart bloke.

[bornadog]

Listening to Ameet Bains on SEN, was asked about clubs coming for Bevo.

In general:

* Ameet said he would expect that -but is confident Bevo wouldn't go and he would honour his contract (end of 2020)

* Bevo doesn't have a manager, so negotiates his own contracts

* Asked what can a club do if they want to break a contract. Ameet said, we can stop a player or coach from joining a new club till the end of the contract.

* Discussions with Bevo have been on going.

[bulldogtragic]

Seems like a strange conversation after a good win. Why did they have that chat this morning?

[bornadog]

Seems like a strange conversation after a good win. Why did they have that chat this morning?

Apparently some reports in HUN and dickhead Slobbo on a podcast

[bulldogtragic]

Apparently some reports in HUN and dickhead Slobbo on a podcast

That Bevo is quitting this year, or going to Carlton?

[hujsh]

That Bevo is quitting this year, or going to Carlton?

The first post BAD put up said he was ‘asked about clubs coming for Bevo’. So that he might be poached by Carlton, St.Kilda, North, whoever.

[bulldogtragic]

The first post BAD put up said he was ‘asked about clubs coming for Bevo’. So that he might be poached by Carlton, St.Kilda, North, whoever.

Pretty sure PG would enforce Bevo's contract to prohibit any move. Seems like a weird thing to be putting into the media space by The Hun/Robbo.

[Axe Man]

In the Age yesterday it speculated that St Kilda would inquire about Bevo should Richardson get the chop.

[Happy Days]

There's a rumour going around that the Saints are interested.

[azabob]

The rumour started with Leigh Montagna saying on radio they should look to poach Beveridge due to the family link with St.Kilda.

[Testekill]

We did poach Bevo from them to begin with so maybe they want payback

[AshMac]

You’d like to think a bloke so focussed on relationships has built a solid foundation at the dogs; he has the love of the players and people around the club.

Gordon has always had his back, which seems it would mean a lot to Bevo.

Hot air from Montagna, like to think beveridge is as loyal as they come. He certainly demands it from his players.

[Ghost Dog]

Nice to be the envy of other clubs.

[The Pie Man]

Any St Kilda links should get you nervous as I bet he still has a soft spot for them having grown up adoring them and Trevor Barker.

I haven't really wanted to look at re-signing him until the last few weeks though. Suspect he'll want to see this group led by Naughton & Marcus through to some better times.

[bornadog]

Any St Kilda links should get you nervous as I bet he still has a soft spot for them having grown up adoring them and Trevor Barker.

I haven't really wanted to look at re-signing him until the last few weeks though. Suspect he'll want to see this group led by Naughton & Marcus through to some better times.

also hisDad has worked there in recruiting for something like 40 years

[Nuggety Back Pocket]

also hisDad has worked their in recruiting for something like 40 years

Bevo’s Grandfather also played in 4 successive Premierships with Collingwood in the 1920/ 30’s plus his playing career included St Kila WB and Melbourne. Luke Darcy was a major influence in his move from St Kilda to Coach us in 2015. Darcy had been approached by PG to be a panel member of the selection committee and indicated that he would be happy to do so providing Bevo was to be one of the candidates. Given the relative strength of our playing group compared to St Kilda it is hard to imagine him wanting to leave our Club given the prospect of playing in another finals campaign

[bulldogtragic]

In Bevo's presser he pretty much dismissed all the rumours. Whilst saying the coaching landscape with contracts has changed, he loves being at the club, wants to stay with this group of players, has another year to run and has had initial preliminary discussions with the club already about extending. But as he has 18 months on his contract, there's just not a rush in the process.

[hujsh]

3 year extension. Quite a bit of faith shown that he has us on the right track but glad to not lose him.

Watching the video it sounds like they decided to do it earlier than planned to avoid speculation he’d be leaving with all the vacant coaching positions

[bulldogtragic]

3 year extension. Quite a bit of faith shown that he has us on the right track but glad to not lose him.

Watching the video it sounds like they decided to do it earlier than planned to avoid speculation he’d be leaving with all the vacant coaching positions

I would've preferred to wait until the off season with him already having a year to run, as I've said previously. But with three vacant head coach positions already, I agree they needed to bring it forward. Now the issue turns to the assistant coaches.

[comrade]

Watching the video it sounds like they decided to do it earlier than planned to avoid speculation he’d be leaving with all the vacant coaching positions

Very good decision, IMO.

We have a finals run to focus on.

[AshMac]

I would've preferred to wait until the off season with him already having a year to run, as I've said previously. But with three vacant head coach positions already, I agree they needed to bring it forward. Now the issue turns to the assistant coaches.

I’m pretty happy with timing. Based on the last few weeks I think we’ve seen we want him past next year as the plan is starting to come together and he’s clearly building the same level of relationships with the new boys he was famous for in 2016.

Good to avoid any speculation too which can be a distraction.

[bornadog]

I was listening to Peter Gordon this morning on his segment at 774 and when asked about Bevo and his contract, he didn't say much and changed the subject. He actually had me worried.

This is great news and as BT said, with 3 vacancies, they were coming for him.

[1eyedog]

I was listening to Peter Gordon this morning on his segment at 774 and when asked about Bevo and his contract, he didn't say much and changed the subject. He actually had me worried.

This is great news and as BT said, with 3 vacancies, they were coming for him.

Old news

[Rocket Science]

Cop that Sainters.

[Bulldog4life]

Great news. Very happy.

[Twodogs]

Terrific news. Like BAD I heard PG on 774 this morning and was worried about his silence on the subject.


Another premiership please Mr Beveridge.

[bulldogtragic]

Terrific news. Like BAD I heard PG on 774 this morning and was worried about his silence on the subject.


Another premiership please Mr Beveridge.

He got finals the year after he actually signed a contract, and a premiership two years after he actually signing a contract. Ergo, 2020 = finals, and 2021 = premiership.

Let the good times roll.

[Eastdog]

Great news! I wasn’t ready for Bevo to depart us. That closes all those rumours down now.

[Daughter of the West]

Cop that Sainters.

My words to my sister were:

Suck on that St Kilda, keep your greasy mitts off!

Similar sentiment ;)

[whythelongface]

Fantastic news. With the coach and many of our star players locked in for a few years we should again be contending for the flag.

[G-Mo77]

Cop that Sainters.

I don't think they were ever in the running. Grant Thomas loves him so came out and said give him 10 years, media pushed that way and made it sound like Saints were trying for his services. Bevo was contracted until the end of next season so they'd need an interim coach until then or for a contract to be broken. Neither were going to happen. I think Ratten was always going to be the guy next in line and he'll be coach of St. Kilda beyond 2019.

I'm happy to have him sign on for a little longer, despite my grumblings about how the team has been selected and performed early on this season I've never wanted Beveridge gone. I'll admit I did have my doubts at stages but was more on the side of getting better minds around him which I still hope we do after this season.

[Jeanette54]

Great to see the club ensuring some stability for the future.

Now we need to build a dynasty, a la Clarkson and the Hawks, on the base of our current young players.

Build it, and they will come; aka a destination club for top class, mature recruits.

[Murphy'sLore]

Phew. Glad to lock Bevo in for a few years longer. I couldn't see him wanting to leave just when this team seems to be starting to come good.

[Mantis]

If we have reacted to external noises I'd be rather disappointed.

Lets hope we aren't 3-8 at the mid point of the 2020 season with Josh Dunkley stationed in a FP, etc..

#inbevowetrust

[Ghost Dog]

Without being one-eyed, has a decent record in his time at our club.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

If we have reacted to external noises I'd be rather disappointed.

Lets hope we aren't 3-8 at the mid point of the 2020 season with Josh Dunkley stationed in a FP, etc..

#inbevowetrust

I don't think we have to be honest. Pretty sure the club said very early in the year that they are working with Bevo on a long term deal. Well before the changing landscape of senior coach positions opening up around the competition.

Given the number of long term signing of players throughout the year, I have been thinking this would occur. Seems only right to give players certainty as well as coach.
No deal is a sure thing. But I'd rather stay the course right now.
I do agree that the assistant coaching ranks need a freshening up. The club and Bevo need new voices and ideas.

[azabob]

What a crack up. Beveridge announced his signing during his mid morning media conference!

[Remi Moses]

Gerard Whateley reckons two clubs had god father offers for Bevo
Kane Cornes hates it , so it’s a good move
Honestly that bloke would bag Santa Claus

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

So we've locked up English, Daniel, Naughton, Hunter, Dunkley, and Bont is on the books for another 2 years and now Bevo.
Heading into the off season we've put ourselves in the most attractive position to be hopefully able to attract some high profile trade and or free agency talent.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Gerard Whateley reckons two clubs had god father offers for Bevo
Kane Cornes hates it , so it’s a good move
Honestly that bloke would bag Santa Claus

In what context was Cornes saying he hates it? Was he saying its a bad move by the Dogs, or that he thought it was a bad move by Bevo to ignore overtures from elsewhere?

[azabob]

In what context was Cornes saying he hates it? Was he saying its a bad move by the Dogs, or that he thought it was a bad move by Bevo to ignore overtures from elsewhere?

He claimed Beveridge is coaching poorly.

[Eastdog]

So we've locked up English, Daniel, Naughton, Hunter, Dunkley, and Bont is on the books for another 2 years and now Bevo.
Heading into the off season we've put ourselves in the most attractive position to be hopefully able to attract some high profile trade and or free agency talent.

Yep hopefully that happens for us now.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

He claimed Beveridge is coaching poorly.

Thanks Azabob.
Up til a month ago, I'd say that was a position he could argue with some level of evidence. However the last month with wins against Port and Geelong, and a good showing against the Pies, would suggest otherwise.
Kane's just a month behind the facts.. situation normal for Kane!

[Ghost Dog]

With these signings, certainly going to be entertaining for years to come with this list and after all, it is entertainment. High marks, running-half backs, gritty, dour,full-backs, blue -chip stars, moneyball gets of diminutive stature, dextrous ruckman, and a solid coach. What a team.

Can't think of a more varied and interesting list. Example we are the only club with the balls to give Caleb a fair go.

[Happy Days]

He claimed Beveridge is coaching poorly.

Wonder what it is that happened in the last 3 weeks to upset Kane?

[Bulldog4life]

Wonder what it is that happened in the last 3 weeks to upset Kane?

He appears to be one of those guys in the media who wants to remain relevant by being contrary for the sake of it. Gets people talking.

[Jeanette54]

we are the only club with the balls to give Caleb a fair go.

I seem to remember a similar story some years ago. And that ended with a Brownlow medal, and a father/son selection in a Premiership team.

[GVGjr]

It's great news that we have retained his services but I do hope we revamp his role to narrow his focus.

[SonofScray]

He has forgone extra coin elsewhere and the chance to give himself a honeymoon period, effectively resetting the scrutiny he will be under if things don't keep tracking the way they we want here. I applaud him for it, it's a brave move & suggests he has some real confidence in himself to get things going.

Personally, I had him sacked and he had me very frustrated from about R2 last season to R6 this season. Putting the axe away now. Might point it at someone else, or sell it and use the money to add an extra support in.

[bornadog]

It's great news that we have retained his services but I do hope we revamp his role to narrow his focus.

In what way?

[jeemak]

He has forgone extra coin elsewhere and the chance to give himself a honeymoon period, effectively resetting the scrutiny he will be under if things don't keep tracking the way they we want here. I applaud him for it, it's a brave move & suggests he has some real confidence in himself to get things going.

Personally, I had him sacked and he had me very frustrated from about R2 last season to R6 this season. Putting the axe away now. Might point it at someone else, or sell it and use the money to add an extra support in.

It's a funny thing, I thought his confidence in himself was going to be his undoing this time around but a bit like last year he's put together some good form on the back of what seems to be more conventional and settled player positioning.

Last year it was apparently the players who got into him in the run home about playing players in their proven best positions, I wonder if the same thing happened this year, whether other elements within club got the message through or whether he realised himself that things needed to be settled.

Anyway it's a big show of faith for both parties and I'm happy each side has the confidence to back our club and its players in.

[Eastdog]

In what way?

I think it has something related to the assistant coaches around Bevo. GVG can clarify that.

[GVGjr]

In what way?

I'd have him more focused on match day rather than match committee and I'd try to have spending less time in the media

[jeemak]

I'd have him more focused on match day rather than match committee and I'd try to have spending less time in the media

Being out of the country I don't see it, but how much media does he actually do? I didn't think he was overly exposed.

[SonofScray]

Being out of the country I don't see it, but how much media does he actually do? I didn't think he was overly exposed.

Very little, but he hates it at a fundamental level. Doesn’t participate in the boys club element and it gets distracting when they butt heads.

[GVGjr]

Being out of the country I don't see it, but how much media does he actually do? I didn't think he was overly exposed.

As SOS said, he doesn't like the media and to be frank I don't think he is that good at it. Getting into feuds doesn't serve him nor the club well either.
He's got to focus more on the match requirements than trying to revolutionise the game as well.

[jeemak]

OK.

I think there's elements of the AFL media he's extremely cynical towards and outright despises, but there's also plenty of examples of him being extremely courteous and warm with other elements of it. That he gets caught up or fixated on some issues or media people actually points to some positives within his personality that I think make him such a good coach when he is focused.

Indifference towards the bullshit the likes of Barrett and some others spin is precisely the reason why they are able to get away with it so regularly. At least Bevo is willing to fight a fight - albeit too often in some cases - others aren't willing to, because as we've seen, if left unchecked some of the rubbish has a real impact on the lives of those it is targeted towards.

[bornadog]

I'd have him more focused on match day rather than match committee and I'd try to have spending less time in the media

The coach has to be on the match committee??? This is a strange comment


Very little, but he hates it at a fundamental level. Doesn’t participate in the boys club element and it gets distracting when they butt heads.

The only media work Bevo does is the weekly press conferences before and after the match


As SOS said, he doesn't like the media and to be frank I don't think he is that good at it. Getting into feuds doesn't serve him nor the club well either.
He's got to focus more on the match requirements than trying to revolutionise the game as well.

The only feud he has had is with Barrett, and I don't blame him, the guy is a knob of the highest order?

Are there any other examples of feuds?

[GVGjr]

The coach has to be on the match committee??? This is a strange comment



Where is that written in stone? I don't mind him having input on selections but he shouldn't be close to having final or total say.
We've played substantially better football once the selections improved
I'd also prefer that he was at arms length on trading and recruiting decisions

He's a fine match day coach, I think it would serve everyone well for that to be his focus

[jeemak]

The coach is accountable for performances so has the final say in selections in my view.

[bornadog]

Where is that written in stone? I don't mind him having input on selections but he shouldn't be close to having final or total say.
We've played substantially better football once the selections improved

How do you know he has the final say? In any case, he is accountable for the team performance. We played better football when players found form and were promoted.


I'd also prefer that he was at arms length on trading and recruiting decisions

He's a fine match day coach, I think it would serve everyone well for that to be his focus

I remember mentioning on this forum that Rocket said he didn't get involved in trading and recruiting, and basically most on here said I lied about that and couldn't believe it.

Bevo says, he is one voice on a committee of six - I think that is fine as long as he is following those rules.

[MrMahatma]

Coach has to have final say in selection.

Coach has to front the media. Bevo does the very bare minimum.

His focus couldn’t be more narrow.

His support team could and should be reviewed to ensure they’re adding value.

A head coach can’t hide. They can’t delegate all the key decisions. They have to be good at lots of things.

[GVGjr]

Coach has to have final say in selection.

Coach has to front the media. Bevo does the very bare minimum.

His focus couldn’t be more narrow.

His support team could and should be reviewed to ensure they’re adding value.

A head coach can’t hide. They can’t delegate all the key decisions. They have to be good at lots of things.

I get that this is a perceived position but I don't believe that should definitely be the case. The coaches job is to get wins on the board for the players he is given and that includes recruitment. When Bomber Thompson had his focus narrowed Geelong imporived immensely. This can also work for a coach like Bevo.

Bevo is a great match day coach who's right on top of his game at the moment. I love the way he has swung Naughton back at crucial times. Let him be the coach first and foremost and let others share some of the other responsibilities.

[jeemak]

I get that this is a perceived position but I don't believe that should definitely be the case. The coaches job is to get wins on the board for the players he is given and that includes recruitment. When Bomber Thompson had his focus narrowed Geelong imporived immensely. This can also work for a coach like Bevo.

Bevo is a great match day coach who's right on top of his game at the moment. I love the way he has swung Naughton back at crucial times. Let him be the coach first and foremost and let others share some of the other responsibilities.

Recruitment is one thing, match committee is something completely different. Can you actually explain how it would work practically to have a situation where the coach doesn't have final say in selection?

[1eyedog]

Agreed. He has the match day strategies , the overall game plan. I can't fathom how he could effectively execute either without the right balance of players playing in the roles he wants them. To me, having the last say in who he has on the park is one of the most critical aspects influencing the success of both. He should also know the players strengths and weaknesses more intimately than anyone else at the club. At least that's what I would have thought..

[Scraggers]

**Bump**

Last season there were a few on WOOF who were calling for Bevo to walk, saying that his days should be numbered. As we sit 11-3 right now and presumably finals bound, just wondering what people think of Bevo now? Are there still naysayers?

[bornadog]

**Bump**

Last season there were a few on WOOF who were calling for Bevo to walk, saying that his days should be numbered. As we sit 11-3 right now and presumably finals bound, just wondering what people think of Bevo now? Are there still naysayers?

When you are losing people go for the coach and forget the fact that the players are the ones out there. If you don't have the right players on the field due to injury or bad recruiting or they are not following instructions, then of course performance will suffer.

Look at Carlton and fans, media turning on Teague. Carlton just don't have the right blend of players, yet the coach is blamed.

[jeemak]

Carlton's funny, they actually think you have to be good because you've been bad for so long. They know nothing of the steps in between those two states.

[bulldogsthru&thru]

When you are losing people go for the coach and forget the fact that the players are the ones out there. If you don't have the right players on the field due to injury or bad recruiting or they are not following instructions, then of course performance will suffer.

Look at Carlton and fans, media turning on Teague. Carlton just don't have the right blend of players, yet the coach is blamed.

Whilst I agree with you, what about 2014 under McCartney and 2015 under Bevo?

[bornadog]

Whilst I agree with you, what about 2014 under McCartney and 2015 under Bevo?

Yes, there are bad coaches too, but Bevo had the runs on the board

[Hotdog60]

Yes, there are bad coaches too.

Peter Rohde

I'll quickly leave now.

[comrade]

**Bump**

Last season there were a few on WOOF who were calling for Bevo to walk, saying that his days should be numbered. As we sit 11-3 right now and presumably finals bound, just wondering what people think of Bevo now? Are there still naysayers?

My biggest issue with Bevo was match committee decisions like giving games to Gowers, Porter, Butler, English as a solo ruck, Gardner when he was going horribly, Bruce etc while shunning the likes of Young, Trengove etc. I felt like we lacked integrity with our MC decision making and it led to some incredibly imbalanced sides - who can forget Hayden Crozier lining up at half forward in a cutthroat final?

I honestly think Dunks trying to get out of the place was a bit of a wake up call for the playing group and for Bevo himself, and we're now seeing players picked in defined roles that make sense for their skill sets and the players are buying in and are committed.

[I'm Not Bitter Anymore!]

Peter Rohde

I'll quickly leave now.
Royce Hart says hello

[merantau]

It's official!

I've got a good feeling about this bloke & obviously wish him all the very best on behalf of many hungry Doggies fans!

This post has aged very well.

[SonofScray]

I honestly think Dunks trying to get out of the place was a bit of a wake up call for the playing group and for Bevo himself, and we're now seeing players picked in defined roles that make sense for their skill sets and the players are buying in and are committed.

Might be something to that, I reckon. We are using plenty of players, like we did earlier on in Bevo’s reign and are regularly, on paper, presenting a fairly traditional set up. He still won’t let go of the midfielder as a back up ruck, but it’s less of a feature at the moment. So pleased to see BDSM and Sweet play at times.

I had him sacked at R2 2018. I’ll never apologise for it.

Changed my mind after R6 2019, a loss to Freo but I noticed a few changes in his presentation and language that made me feel like he was up for it. Showed great leadership in 2020 and is being more sensible in 2021.

[soupman]

I was someone who was displeased with how we were going.

I like Beveridge, and was very happy to ack him in when he was going good (the 2015-16 era). I know that sounds easy in hindsight, but I was very happy to go with his crazy team selection stuff back then and loved his braveness to back in us being better instead of trying to change our fundamentals because the opposition had certain players.

Since 2016 though it's been a bit of a shit show.
-Too clever by half team selection. You know what I'm talking about. Every unconventional decision we made in this area in 2015-16 came off, but 2017 onwards it almost always ended in disaster and we never ever pulled back on it.
-Baffling gameday moves. Mostly ruck related, but other things have been frustrating throughout.
-A vibe that he'd rather die trying to pull the impossible off than take a more conventional route, even when the latter is right there for the taking.
-A love of throwing first year players in often when they weren't ready but reluctance to play ready to go recruits. This is particularly infuriating when we refuse to cut the players he clearly doesn't want to play. Ben Cavarra is a good example here.
-Too stubborn. So stubborn.
-A combative manner that I didn't think put the club in a very positive overall space. See basically any press conference. I don't disagree with a lot of his viewpoints on this stuff, but they could be handled a little less bluntly.
-Blind loyalty to fringe players that I do not see as the future. Kind of the Ben Cavarra thing.
-A continual embrace of our strengths while generally ignoring certain weaknesses and letting them become even weaker. Our defence is performing now, but up until and cinluding last year was only getting worse and even now I'm not sold.
-Poor supporter engagement, the lack of training access being part of that. So secretive, to the point of shutting out the people that the club exists for.
-A lack of improvement from the team, I think everyone has felt like we have underperformed the last few years but at the same time it became hard to see how we would just get better.

There are more, and some sound lamer than others, but they add up.

The other part was i had a theory about Beveridge, in that I think he would be an excellent short term coach who moved clubs frequently. He is a breathe of fresh air, and really good at harnessing the energy and enhancing the potential of a group imo. Kind of a bottled lightning guy. I reckon ( and still think) he is the perfect coach to go to a club on the edge of being really good, like say West Coast, or maybe Collingwood, or definitely GWS, and turn them into a very good side for 2-3 years. I think he'd be great at reinvogorating careers like he did with us, get them their shot at a Premiership, and then move on for his next contract. A bit like how in soccer there are managers that are relegation shitfight specialists, or promotion boys, that kind of thing. Beveridge could be the guy that you call if you think you are capable of being a top 4-5 ish side, but can't quite seem to take that next step and are stagnating. Give him 3 years, he'll get you bloody close, then off he jumps to join a different group in a similiar position. I wasn't sold that he was a guy that could still be fresh and inspire a group that he'd been around for 6+ years.

I think my bigger criticisms were that it seemed that we all saw his flaws, but weren't really holding him accountable for them. He is undoubtedly a very good coach, and I'm not sure there is anything better on the market (or even in the league), but another season of not being as good as we could be and it could have been hard call time.

Many of the above issues have resolved themselves, some haven't, and maybe he has come out the other side of a lean patch (that wasn't even that lean tbf) and we go on to be amazing. Regardless, winning fixes everything and we are definitely doing that.

[Bulldog Joe]

Great post Soup.

I was definitely in the need to go camp as I saw him stubbornly trying to reinvent the game and persisting with everything that wasn't working.

He has now got us into a brilliant position with great help from the list management.

[Scraggers]

My biggest issue with Bevo was match committee decisions like giving games to Gowers, Porter, Butler, English as a solo ruck, Gardner when he was going horribly, Bruce etc while shunning the likes of Young, Trengove etc. I felt like we lacked integrity with our MC decision making and it led to some incredibly imbalanced sides - who can forget Hayden Crozier lining up at half forward in a cutthroat final?

I honestly think Dunks trying to get out of the place was a bit of a wake up call for the playing group and for Bevo himself, and we're now seeing players picked in defined roles that make sense for their skill sets and the players are buying in and are committed.

Whilst I agree with you in principle, the vision Bevo has shown to ensure the whole team has versatility is most definitely coming to the fore. We have played all players in our list (except three) and sit second on the ladder 11-3. I cannot remember another team using that many on their list and winning so many games. The instability of using 38/39 different players costs games. But not this team. This was, in my opinion, Bevo’s long term plan from the start. It’s paying off in spades.

[comrade]

Whilst I agree with you in principle, the vision Bevo has shown to ensure the whole team has versatility is most definitely coming to the fore. We have played all players in our list (except three) and sit second on the ladder 11-3. I cannot remember another team using that many on their list and winning so many games. The instability of using 38/39 different players costs games. But not this team. This was, in my opinion, Bevo’s long term plan from the start. It’s paying off in spades.

I think we've played that many this year because we've had so many injuries and not a grand plan to introduce versatility into the team. Playing Gowers at all or English as a solo ruck all last year wasn't about versatility.

[jeemak]

Good perspectives all round.

Soup - now that Bevo's overseen somewhat of a forced rebuild have you changed your view on him being the two to three year contract magic man/ breath of fresh air?

I said in the game day thread yesterday that I think Bevo's had a plan, and it's coming to fruition. A bit like Scraggers is saying above. It's definitely been frustrating, and I don't know whether it's been the best way to go but we are where we are and we're playing as good a football as any side in the competition right now.

Results leading up to this year were probably more telling in hindsight than they may have appeared at the time. While we could play good football we had a core that lacked maturity, hardness and a killer instinct. We could have etched out more home and away wins with less adventurous selection, but we'd have likely come unstuck in the finals like we eventually did. Whether he gets credit for it or otherwise, the core of the playing group seems to have taken a massive mental step forward and is being well complemented by development and cohesion across the board. It's not perfect yet, we're still prone to costly lapses as demonstrated across all of our losses, but the delta between those lapses and our consistent high performance seems to be shrinking.

[macca]

When you are losing people go for the coach and forget the fact that the players are the ones out there. If you don't have the right players on the field due to injury or bad recruiting or they are not following instructions, then of course performance will suffer.

Look at Carlton and fans, media turning on Teague. Carlton just don't have the right blend of players, yet the coach is blamed.

I think thats what happened with us last year, with players injured, unfit or played out of position:

Bruce was not fit
Naughton got injured
We lost Dunkely for a few weeks
We did not have a mature ruck, and English was getting smashed, along with Dunks at times. Just ridiculous we use our gun mids as ruck. Roos used Goodes in the ruck and realized after he did his knee he should never risk his champion like that.

I got a sense Bonts was playing sore in a few games as he was carrying a heavy load, even rucking at that GWS final .

The backline was just starting to work itself out with Keith in the team.

1 year later, and everyone has matured. Add in :
- Treloar:that extra midfield class we miss, who hurt oppsitions on the outside with run and goals
- Dunks superfit and dominate mid, until he got injured
-Macrae is mr Super consistent : 14 games with 30+ displosals and his kicking goals now!
- surprise influx of forward pressure with : Scoot, McNeil, Vandemeer , Weightman, Garcia and even JJ has bought in.
- almost like new recruits back from injury: McLean, Richards,
- Bruce super fit, and his kicking accuracy has been a surprise.
- Naughton as a power forward with the balance act with Bruce /english.
- English is a year bigger and stronger
- fierce contest for spots in the team with contests from depth: Lipinski, Wallis, Cavarra, Garcia, Hayes, Roarke, Butler, West, Young, Schache all vying for that last 21-22 spot. Some of these guys may not have the elite attributes like our best 22 , but some of them won't die trying.

Bevo now has the players to execute his strategy and he knows it . Its all about the execution now with this team.

[Scraggers]

I think we've played that many this year because we've had so many injuries and not a grand plan to introduce versatility into the team. Playing Gowers at all or English as a solo ruck all last year wasn't about versatility.

You’re 100% correct. We have played that many because of injury. But you’re missing the point, any team facing this amount of injuries should not be sitting second with an 11-3 record. The versatility of our team and in particular our bit players is the reason. This isn’t a 2021 plan. It’s not a 2020 plan. This is at 2015 plan that is now coming to fruition for a sustained period of success. Now I’ll concede that Gowers was an experiment that failed, English was not. He learnt so much on the job as a solo ruck, not just about ruck craft, but ground positioning, reading the play, playing forward and back. As part of the long term plan, you have to see past the short term losses.

[Bulldog4life]

I've always been a Bevo fan. Never wanted our premiership coach sacked. Wouldn't swap him for any other coach in the league. I have seen some doozy coaches at our club over 60 years. So grateful we have him. Players love him too.

[soupman]

Soup - now that Bevo's overseen somewhat of a forced rebuild have you changed your view on him being the two to three year contract magic man/ breath of fresh air?

.

Sort of.

My comment to that is that I think more than many coaches he is able to squeeze more blood out of the stone, mainly through reinvigorating a group mentally and also enabling them to play to their potential (or even above) in the short term.

Thats admittedly based on a one club sample size, but I am confident in his ability in this regard.

He has also proven now that he can build a side up over a period of time with this rebuild of sorts. He is a very good development coach, we have an abundance of talent and he deserves credit for that. The question remains to me until we have shown that we can be a proper top four side.

Our finals performances (and in season performances against quality sides like Melbourne and Richmond) have been poor at times. I'm actually really optimistic, but if we falter against these sides/in the finals again then the question is still there for me, as to whether he is equipped to turn the team mentally into what it could be. That's not just on him, but it is something he is accountable for.

So to answer your question early signs are that he can do both, but I'm not sure what my view is if we don't make anything of this next period at the top.

Also I still think it could be something quite revolutionary if he did embrace the 3 year contract role and was good at it. Not even once a decade do you get a coach spend time at two different clubs as the guy to take them the rest of the way. Ross Lyon is the only one to pull off the "I'm gonna skip the rebuild and jump ship to an up and comer" move, basically every other coach hangs around until they get fired. A coach that is knowingly only at a club for a good time not a long time is something I find fascinating, and Beveridge is probably the best equipped in the comp for it imo.