bornadog
11-09-2020, 06:44 PM
link (https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/beveridge-won-t-drop-misfiring-key-forwards-20200911-p55uu1.html)
https://static.ffx.io/images/$zoom_0.479%2C$multiply_1.5109%2C$ratio_1.776846%2C$width_10 59%2C$x_193%2C$y_91/t_crop_custom/q_62%2Cf_auto/29c3681bdbe2dc99786e607b897a6e1a3230bbeb
Luke Beveridge has defended his key forward duo of Aaron Naughton and Josh Bruce as the pair endure a lean goal kicking period.
Bruce kicked six goals against North Melbourne in round five but outside of that has booted only six in 12 games. Naughton kicked six against Adelaide in round 12, but only another five in seven other games.
Medium-sized forward Mitch Wallis has been the Bulldogs' chief scoreboard threat with 20 goals in his 14 games.
Beveridge said Bruce and Naughton were not at risk of losing their places in the side because they were doing an excellent job at bringing the ball to ground and neutralising opposition defenders.
The 2016 premiership coach said it was rare that an opposition backline got a hold of his forward line aerially this season, pointing to the fact Geelong only took one intercept mark against them and West Coast were not able to play their usual defensive marking game last round.
"Remember a lot of these games played at night are quite damp," Beveridge said. "It is a hard and challenging situation for many of the key forwards
"We've been over the moon with the contest our bigger forwards have given us.
"We haven't always had fluency with our ball movement there. The chemistry side of it and leading patterns, queueing ball carries into where we want the footy – that's a huge work in progress and it will always be, especially with a revolving door with the personnel.
"We are happy with how hard our key forwards are working and the opportunities they're providing for others."
The Dogs face Hawthorn on Sunday as one of the teams vying for a spot in the top eight.
Luckless winger Lin Jong has gone home from the Bulldogs' Queensland hub and won't play again this season. He played three games this year but suffered a syndesmosis injury in round five.
Easton Wood (hamstring) will miss again through injury.
Meanwhile, Beveridge said if the AFL wanted to play more games next season to make up for lost revenue they would have to wind back cuts to the soft cap and think twice about cutting list sizes.
He said many of his staff were currently "cooked" given the condensed season.
"You can't just add games on that suits the revenue and the broadcast," he said. "You have to consider the people in the game as much as the players … otherwise we won't be in it for very long.
"You couldn't bring it
[list sizes] down much if you were going to go to a season where there were many more games played."
He said his players had dealt reasonably well with 2020's two fixture crunch periods and that he believed the games being shorter wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
"We managed it [condensed period] OK … We were able to get through it relatively seamlessly from an injury point of view," he said.
"The most disconcerting thing for everyone has been the lack of stability in the rules and interpretation, that's something we'll need to stabilise next year."
https://static.ffx.io/images/$zoom_0.479%2C$multiply_1.5109%2C$ratio_1.776846%2C$width_10 59%2C$x_193%2C$y_91/t_crop_custom/q_62%2Cf_auto/29c3681bdbe2dc99786e607b897a6e1a3230bbeb
Luke Beveridge has defended his key forward duo of Aaron Naughton and Josh Bruce as the pair endure a lean goal kicking period.
Bruce kicked six goals against North Melbourne in round five but outside of that has booted only six in 12 games. Naughton kicked six against Adelaide in round 12, but only another five in seven other games.
Medium-sized forward Mitch Wallis has been the Bulldogs' chief scoreboard threat with 20 goals in his 14 games.
Beveridge said Bruce and Naughton were not at risk of losing their places in the side because they were doing an excellent job at bringing the ball to ground and neutralising opposition defenders.
The 2016 premiership coach said it was rare that an opposition backline got a hold of his forward line aerially this season, pointing to the fact Geelong only took one intercept mark against them and West Coast were not able to play their usual defensive marking game last round.
"Remember a lot of these games played at night are quite damp," Beveridge said. "It is a hard and challenging situation for many of the key forwards
"We've been over the moon with the contest our bigger forwards have given us.
"We haven't always had fluency with our ball movement there. The chemistry side of it and leading patterns, queueing ball carries into where we want the footy – that's a huge work in progress and it will always be, especially with a revolving door with the personnel.
"We are happy with how hard our key forwards are working and the opportunities they're providing for others."
The Dogs face Hawthorn on Sunday as one of the teams vying for a spot in the top eight.
Luckless winger Lin Jong has gone home from the Bulldogs' Queensland hub and won't play again this season. He played three games this year but suffered a syndesmosis injury in round five.
Easton Wood (hamstring) will miss again through injury.
Meanwhile, Beveridge said if the AFL wanted to play more games next season to make up for lost revenue they would have to wind back cuts to the soft cap and think twice about cutting list sizes.
He said many of his staff were currently "cooked" given the condensed season.
"You can't just add games on that suits the revenue and the broadcast," he said. "You have to consider the people in the game as much as the players … otherwise we won't be in it for very long.
"You couldn't bring it
[list sizes] down much if you were going to go to a season where there were many more games played."
He said his players had dealt reasonably well with 2020's two fixture crunch periods and that he believed the games being shorter wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
"We managed it [condensed period] OK … We were able to get through it relatively seamlessly from an injury point of view," he said.
"The most disconcerting thing for everyone has been the lack of stability in the rules and interpretation, that's something we'll need to stabilise next year."