Over-rated / Under-rated #6: Luke Beveridge

[mjp]

This is the last one:

Age: 54
Games Total: 230 (won 130, lost 100). Finals (won 7, lost 6).

The story:
After the world ended after the 2014 season, Bevo was a LATE coaching appointment (Nov 14th) leading into the 2015 season. He immediately had success, leading the team to the finals in his first season (a loss to the Crows that seems a 'closer' game in retrospect than when I was sitting at the MCG getting annoyed that no-one would pick up Eddie Betts at a F50 stop!) before taking the team to Grand Final success in 2016. The following couple of years were disappointing/disastrous before finals again in 2019 and 2020 then back to the GF in 2021. Apparently? I have a ticket stub for a game at Optus in September 2021 but no recollection of the event.

Coming off that game (if it happened) have been 3x pretty so-so seasons where the squads high end players (led by Bont) seem to have battled to play cohesive footy and results have been inconsistent.

He is out of contract at the end of the 2025 season.


Is Luke:
a). Over-rated - Yep - sure. He's taken the side to 50% of the grand finals in our history but his finals record is 7-6. BUT if you exclude 2016, it is 3-6! AND the side has NEVER finished the Home/Away (lol - contradiction in fixturing terms) in the top 4. AND he has one thing no-other coach does: Marcus Bontempelli...I mean, COME ON. With "Bevo" in charge it seems the team can beat absolutely anyone and play the most exhilarating footy in the competition. Right up until a 'serious' opponent appears when they collapse in a heap.
b). Properly-rated - 2x Grand Finals (and 1x Premiership) is NO JOKE. The bloke can coach. Support systems around him have been somewhat erratic, the club hasn't always seem to provide him with adequate support and year in, year out we're playing in September.
c). Under-rated - Yep - the top end of the squad is great - but the role players do battle to hold their own. We have NO home ground advantage - NONE - and despite being based a few short kms away are never scheduled to play at the MCG (apparently finals are played there??). Despite all this we keep rolling along, winning games at a rate never imagined in the clubs long-history and playing finals most every season. There should be a statue of the bloke out the front of the Whitten Oval.

[jazzadogs]

Interested to see which way SonOfScray leans on this one.

I think he is properly- to under-rated.

We have won some incredible games during his tenure, not just in 2016 but home and away games too - the four week patch this year when we beat the top 4 teams was fantastic, and well-coached. He is innovative, not afraid to get things wrong, and develops great relationships with his best players.

His downside is that he can write off players who fail him on some matter of integrity, or don't follow instructions. We have lost plenty of players during Bevo's time, but only a handful have actually proved him wrong - Roughead probably the main one.

I think we are well-coached and well-led as a club, and I am in the camp of blame being on the players for our inconsistency - the best club culture's are played-led.

Similar to English, there is too much focus on what Bevo doesn't/can't do and not enough credit given for what he can do. He doesn't get a statue, but he is a legend of the club.

[Rocco Jones]

Hard to gauge how much someone is rated.

I am saying underrated due to the sinister negative media narrative set by Kane and so. There's a massive perception that he is a bumbling fool who inherited a dynasty destined list.

I am going with coaching career underrated but I also would not offer him a contract unless we some improvement this season.

[jeemak]

Underrated to properly rated and I hold similar sentiments to JD above.

People have gushed over our midfield for years, and that's fine, outside of that though we've had cobbled together forward and defensive structures. Now just as the latter two are in great shape we're needing to address the midfield and smaller runners.

I often wonder how Beveridge goes with Geelong's structure, leadership and talent across the ground over the past decade, let alone their home ground advantage. Obviously it's all hypothetical but I don't reckon his record is any worse than Chris Scott's and I doubt he'd only have a single flag to his name.

[jeemak]

Hard to gauge how much someone is rated.

I am saying underrated due to the sinister negative media narrative set by Kane and so. There's a massive perception that he is a bumbling fool who inherited a dynasty destined list.

I am going with coaching career underrated but I also would not offer him a contract unless we some improvement this season.

The anti-intellectual set are as prevalent in football commentary as they are in politics and business. Unfortunately even more people follow them, believe them, and parrot their ill-informed simplistic and self serving opinions.

[GVGjr]

I'll write up something more comprehensive later but the answer is a combination of all three options.

[BiteNibbleChomp]

Bevo made 2016 possible. We're very fortunate to have had him.

Is it frustrating that we never seem to string more than four or five wins in a row under him? Absolutely. But statistically, if you're winning 51% of your games, you're already doing better than half the competition - Bevo's record at 57% surpasses that by a fair margin.

I've had my doubts with him at times, but I think his record can speak for itself. Sure it'd be nice if we finished top 4, but we could do a heck of a lot worse too. And when he does leave - be it this October or a few years in the future, I hope we'll all remember him as someone who has made an immense contribution to the club.

Underrated.

- BNC

[Bornadog]

Rated at C.

Has done an incredible job and given all of us a thrill for almost 10 years. Sure we haven't finished top 4 missing only by percentage (one goal, in 2021), and one game in 2016 and one game in 2024,(second best % for year behind Swans), but made top 2 in two years.

Bevo has his flaws but so do all coaches. JD summed him up beautifully.

[GVGjr]

Once again I will go with a rating of B as he really has been in the job too long to be underrated or overrated.
He's got plenty of admirers and critics but that is the nature of the coaching beast unless you are winning finals as regularly as the Tigers did just recently.
Now regarding Bevo.
I rate him as a coach, he's determined, analytical and tactical, hates losing and fiercely loyal to the club, coaches and players.
Where I think he lets himself down consistently is that he doesn't decisively deal with distracted players during the season allowing things to fester before addressing things at the end of the season.
He also needs to repair some of the damage he has within the media circle.
I can see why some of our members are impatient for further success and want him gone and why others don't think he can be easily replaced.

He goes into this season without a contract extension so who knows if we can keep the media scrum and negativity at bay.
A fast start to the season is almost a must.

[Woofingwarrior]

I think he’s got the most he can out of the list and we won’t taste the greatest success again with him at the helm.

don’t know if that’s under rated or over rated. Think he could be a good coach at another club

[Bornadog]

This is the last one:

Thanks MJP, these have been interesting to respond to. You have picked out some of the most controversial, that is for sure.

[MrMahatma]

B. He's rated highly and rightly so. Also, he ain't perfect so gets some criticism and rightly so (based on team results).

[Rusty12]

B, for similar reasons to GVGjr

[Dogs 24/7]

While I'm loving and appreciating these threads it's hard to say someone it over or underrated especially the coach
I'd be 100% in to say he is underappreciated but the some of our supporters but it still might be time for him to go.

He needs to be demanding more from this group and if some players aren't ready to step up they should be relegated to Footscray.

[Uninformed]

You sucked me back in with this one.

Abolutely, shockingly underrated. Greatest coach we have ever had.

Still coaching well. Best coach in it today and way better than anyone in the wings. (With the possible exception of Clarkson who may or may not have lost it)

I say underrated because people speculate about his contract renewal which should be a slam dunk if he still wants it. Keeping the players for as long as he has is extraordinary, as is his ability to develop a working relationship with assistants and staff. Still got the energy, still got the hunger. Focussing on his faults it useless - every coach, everyone has them. Look at his strengths and be grateful.

Don't worry about stats. Talk to him, watch him in action. Assess him properly.

Remember Melbourne and Norm Smith! The idiots sacked their most successful coach and didn't win again for 60 years.

The media can get stuffed! Give them nothing and always ignore them confident that the truth lies in the exact opposite of the rubbish they propagate. Doesn't matter what they say if the club stands with Luke.

And, by the way, don't ever accuse me of being a teensy bit over the top.