Luke Beveridge and Western Bulldogs went from handball club to party club


LUKE Beveridge seems cut from the same cloth as the AFL’s longest serving coach Mick Malthouse.

A father figure, a confidante and a master motivator who didn’t seem overly fussed if his players burnt the candle at both ends.

If his players wanted a cheeky beer or an odd blowout after a victory, it didn’t matter as long as they went to war for him on a weekly basis.

One of the many take-outs from the Western Bulldogs’ premiership hangover is that an isolated group of his players took that rope and ran with it.

The last time there was this much chatter about the Dogs, the fallout was dramatic.

They sacked their coach, lost their Brownlow Medallist, traded their captain and saw their CEO depart just months later.

Now the club which won a premiership off the back of those dramatic decisions has again become the subject of an off-season whispering campaign.

They might ship their best forward, there are rumours about administrative changes, the list manager is unsigned, the fan base is unsettled.

The team that started the Handball Club seems more intent on being the Party Club.

The club’s recent history shows events are never as bad as they seem, that one poor season can be the launching pad for success.

But only if those issues are identified and immediately rectified instead of swept under the carpet.

Luke Beveridge’s decision to trade Jake Stringer is the warning shot across the bows of his entire list.

Beveridge’s issues run far deeper than Stringer when it comes to on-field issues.

A simple snapshot: the Dogs were 15th for points for, 18th for goals per inside 50, 18th for kicking efficiency, 18th for centre clearance ranking and 17th for hit-outs to advantage.

Simple question — who kicks all of the Dogs’ goals if Stringer leaves?

The Dogs want a pick for Stringer instead of players, with Essendon and Geelong strong early suitors and St Kilda, Collingwood and North Melbourne interested.

But as flighty and inconsistent and infuriating as Stringer is, he is a goalkicker.

Despite being dropped last year, despite a knee and two hamstring issues this year, he has 122 goals from 2015-2017.

In that time Marcus Bontempelli has 63 goals, Liam Picken 54, Jack Redpath 54, Luke Dahlhaus 39 and Tom Boyd 36.

Tory Dickson kicked 101, but at 30 and with just 11 of those goals coming this season, it’s hard to think he picks up the slack.

So Bevo needs to weed out the ratbags, find a better ruck set-up, weigh a trade for Stringer, fix his midfield, find more goalkickers.

A single entry on his resume — 2016 premiership coach — will have him shouted free beer in pubs west of North Melbourne for all his days.

But a long-lasting legacy comes from his capacity to drag this club back up the ladder again.