We can be the best

[ratsmac]

This is from the Sunday Herald Sun yesterday. Please delete if it breaches any copyright laws. I can find the link anywhere.

March 3, 2024 | Herald Sun/Sunday Herald Sun/Home Magazine (Melbourne, Australia)
Author/Byline: Glenn McFarlane |

EXCLUSIVE Luke Beveridge has a pre-season tradition he has carried throughout his tenure as coach of the Western Bulldogs.

While most of the football public are uncertain of what the Bulldogs can produce this year, the man who has been at the helm since late 2014 is always glass half full when assessing the playing group?s potential.

Never mind the fact the Dogs failed to play finals last season and even lost to lowly West Coast, a round 23 defeat that cost them the chance to play in September.

But the coach sees it differently, and he?s confident not only of a swift bounce back in his 10th season as Bulldogs coach, but also of a pathway towards success.

When the Sunday Herald Sun asked him for his assessment of the Bulldogs? list, he was buoyant about what this group could achieve, saying the profile is better than it was 12 months ago after bringing in eight new faces.

?Each year I tell the players we can be the best team in the competition,? Beveridge said.

So, has he told them that this pre-season? ?I?ve told them a few times,? he added.

The club and Beveridge, contracted until the end of 2025, are under pressure. Whether he gets a chance to fulfil that deal could depend on his team?s results this year, but the coach is confident the Bulldogs can shoot back up the ladder.

?Year in and year out it is a challenge in this competition, to be at your best and to be the best team means you are always trying to get ahead of the curve,? Beveridge said.

?You are looking three to six months, or nine to 12 months or even 18 months ahead all the time.

?I feel like we have lost some players (in the past few years) because you can?t hold on to everyone, but I think in recent times, especially out of this (2023) draft, I really feel like we have replenished probably better than most people think.

?The profile of the eight players who came in, we needed.? The Bulldogs traded for Saint Nick Coffield and Demon James Harmes, took former Hawk Lachie Bramble as an SSP pick-up, and also brought in draftees Ryley Sanders, Jordan Croft, Joel Freijah, Lachlan Smith and Aiden O?Driscoll.

?Other than (young ruckman) Lachie Smith, they (the recruits) are all utility types who can play in a couple of roles, but they have also brought an energy to the group,? Beveridge said.

?They have gone through the bulk of the training, which is pretty significant, as have Harvey Gallagher and Charlie Clarke as well as Judd Busslinger, they were our three kids out of (2022 draft). I really feel that the younger guys have energised us and, as you know, there is a pretty good blend of experience as well.?

NO HOLDING BACK Exciting teenager Sanders ? the club?s pick No.6 in last year?s draft ? is on track to make his AFL debut against Melbourne after a flawless pre-season.

He reminds Beveridge a little of Bailey Smith when he first walked into Whitten Oval, but is perhaps even more advanced.

While Beveridge knows there is a long road ahead for the young midfielder, he can?t help but be impressed.

?When the first starters commence, you are looking for their graduation over a period of weeks and then months,? he said.

?About two and a half weeks in, I said to our guys, ?Hey I don?t think you are going to have to hold this young bloke back too much?.

?The risk is there to a degree, but consider what he has already done beforehand and think who he is and what he is doing, and let?s not miss this opportunity because we have held him back too much.

?That was his foothold in December, then to see the way he has gone about playing against some of the better midfielders in the competition.? The coach said there were still plenty of lessons ahead for Sanders, but the club was willing to keep working with him in taking his game to the next level.

?We won?t ever suck the creative licence or juices out of our players, but there are some clinical things in any inside mid?s makeup that they need to get right at this level.? Asked if he will play against the Demons, Beveridge was emphatic: ?Definitely.?

READYMADE TRIO The Dogs specifically sought players to boost their depth and profile, which was the reason behind trading for Demons premiership player Harmes and luckless Saint Coffield, while delisted Hawk Bramble was also sought out to play a role.

?They were all we needed,? Beveridge said.

?Nick hasn?t missed a beat, with his soft tissue and his knee (of the past), he has trained every session. Lachie came in after a shoulder reco ? over the last three weeks to a month he has done everything physically as far as his shoulder goes.

??Harmesy? was stiff. He was crook at the start and then we had a really good camp and he got crook at the end of the camp. Now he is coming up to the surface again and I loved the way he went about it (last Friday against Hawthorn).?

NEW ASSISTANTS The Bulldogs have had plenty of change in their off-field team in recent seasons.

?I am pretty proud of the fact that our program is sophisticated, we have had a lot of people come in and contribute,? he said. ?We?ve had a lot of changes.

?We?ve had guys headhunted out of a good environment ? Steven King, Ash Hansen, Daniel Giansiracusa ? it is what happens.

?The new guys (this pre-season) are doing a terrific job ? ?Ego? (Matthew Egan) being one of them ? ?Pratty? (Daniel Pratt), and obviously Jarryn Geary and Alex Johnson coming in.

?They have all had very different experiences and can be leaned on in their own skill set area.?

OUT OF CONTRACT Beveridge knows the Bulldogs have an off-field challenge of locking away three out of contract stars this season ? restricted free agent Tim English, emerging key forward Jamarra Ugle-Hagan and injured midfielder Bailey Smith.

But he says he will leave that up to the club?s list and recruiting manager Sam Power.

?I totally leave it to Sam (Power),? he said. ?All I can do is make sure that it doesn?t cloud my judgment. I think about it, but I can?t let it affect our decision-making.

?We?re hoping it will work itself out.? English is the hottest free agent in the pool this season and will attract huge interest.

Ugle-Hagan said late last year he was keen to stay with the Dogs, while plenty of attention will come on Smith as he recovers from a knee reconstruction.

LIBBA THE LEADER Tom Liberatore?s evolution as a footballer ? and a game-day leader ? has been one of the great Bulldogs stories.

His return to the leadership group as vice-captain this season is a fitting reward for a player who has matured significantly in recent years.

?I think it is just a good example of a young man who has grown up,? Beveridge said.

?He cares a lot about the club and the people in it.

?Through his knee rehabs there were times when there was a chance he wouldn?t play the next year.

?He just couldn?t strike the balance between what he needed to do. He and I had some really frank conversations about that.? He said the fact that Libba was now a father, to son Oscar, and held such a respected place within the Dogs? group was a credit to the work he had put into his game and his life.

?For him to be in the place he is now, with a young fellow Oscar, being a father, is great.

?Those knees might be ticking, that?s the problem. But hopefully he can continue to hang in there, he is playing some really good footy.?

LOBB v DARCY How many talls can the Bulldogs play?

English, Aaron Naughton and Ugle-Hagan are locks, so it could come down to a head-to-head situation between veteran Rory Lobb and young gun Sam Darcy.

Beveridge doesn?t see it as simplistic as that.

He also knows Lobb is a mature big man, while Darcy is entering his third season with only limited exposure.

?Everyone is comparing them, because they are 207cm and 208cm, and they play similar roles, but you have to remember Rory is a mature player who is seasoned,? Beveridge said.

?He would play 120 minutes (of a game) if he could, whereas Sam is probably ready for about 80 minutes.

?We are talking about guys at totally different ends of the spectrum.? Asked if they can all play in the same side, Beveridge said: ?Ultimately they can, but we are not sure if the two of them and Aaron, Jamarra and Tim can all play in the same side. It didn?t quite work last year.

?If they all play, someone like Rhylee West, Cody Weightman or Laitham Vandermeer would have moved out.?

$80M REDEVELOPMENT The Bulldogs are hoping the $80m redevelopment of the Whitten Oval can play a role in their revival.

Beveridge always told the players that the past obstacles in the way ? including training for a time at Skinner Reserve in Braybrook while the redevelopment was going on ? had to be managed, but he knows a return to their home base should help.

?I have heard the players talk about it; I have heard the staff talk about it,? he said.

?It doesn?t matter how much you raise your chin and say we are better than this to let it affect us, I have no doubt that it did.

?Hopefully this (Whitten Oval) doesn?t become too comfortable.? The Bulldogs have an aim of reaching 60,000 members this season, which the coach said would be a fitting reward for all the effort so many people have put into the club.

When he took over as coach in late 2014, the club had just over 30,000 members. ?It?s taken a collective to create momentum at the football club,? he said. ?It?s something we should be proud of, even for a target of 60,000 (members) to be considered absolutely achievable compared to say 2014, that?s a significant thing.

?I often think about (former president) Peter Gordon around the redevelopment and the lobbying of the state government, and the timing around this being completed when other clubs are still trying to get theirs off the ground.

?The philanthropy of a lot of people has helped keep the club afloat and now they must be so proud.?

CONCUSSION Having coached Liam Picken and Marcus Adams, who had their careers cut short by concussion, Beveridge has always been mindful of the impact of head knocks and collisions.

?We?ve always had a level of care at ground level and in the air at training,? he said. ?That is not to say something won?t go wrong ? it did the other week with Bailey Williams and Aiden O?Driscoll and it was a nasty one.

?So you can?t eliminate the risk, but you can mitigate it, which we do here at the footy club pretty well. Most of us who have played at the level have got our own horror stories or experiences ? and some of us have been affected and others haven?t.

?That?s the hard thing to process each time it happens. You think, ?What does it mean for one young man compared to another?? But he isn?t convinced a reduction of interchange would make a difference. ?I am not sure whether fatigue in the game helps,? he said. ?It becomes clumsy and maybe more exposed ? there is always a counter to everything.? Beveridge, 53, is about to enter his 10th season as coach and closing in on what would be a record he never imagined.

He has coached the Bulldogs on 206 occasions; just 22 games short of the record held by the legendary Ted Whitten (228 games).

As much as an honour that would be for him, he isn?t thinking that far ahead. His sights are solely on the round 1 clash with Melbourne.

Asked if he still loved coaching, Beveridge said: ?Absolutely I do. Pre-seasons, for me, are huge projects.

?It?s like an adventure playground, bringing all your people together and starting the journey, and when you get in season, it is thrilling.?

BECOME A DOGS MEMBER TODAY https://membership.westernbulldogs.com.au/ 1300 GO DOGS (46 36 47)

[josie]

Thanks for posting article Ratsmac. I sense Bevo is in a good space right now. Hoping that rubs off onto players. Looks a certainty that Sanders will play against Dees.

[Bulldog Joe]

Bevo being genuinely upbeat and engaged is what we need.