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From the King:
The events of the past week have the ability to make or break the Western Bulldogs season.
It is a harsh reality that these young men need to dust themselves off and front up against Geelong, but, at the same time, the injuries to Mitch Wallis and Jack Redpath could galvanise the entire club and lead them to greater heights.
Hawthorn have overcome similar adversity in recent years, while Adelaide has thrived in a really testing 12 months since the death of Phil Walsh. That strength of character is what good clubs are built on.
Luke Beveridge was close to tears in his media conference on Tuesday when discussing how he felt about his players, and that emotion was refreshing to see.
Perhaps 20 years ago it would have been seen as a sign of weakness, but generally, now, we're much more aware of mental health, and much better at talking things through.
It wasn't all that long ago I criticised Brendon Goddard for crying after his first match against former club St Kilda. In hindsight I might have got that wrong, as I've come to realise that real men do show their emotions.
The scenes from the Bulldogs' rooms last Saturday night were quite graphic, because we could see how much pain Wallis was in and how it was affecting his teammates.
That grief doesn't go away instantly and really comes down to each individual – some players can shake it off, while others will be haunted for much longer.
We sit back and watch these guys and expect them to be perfect and always in control, but the reality is there are so many things going on in their lives that we don't know about.
That's why Beveridge must be applauded.
To see your leader be truly moved by a serious injury automatically brings everyone closer together and I think he's a great example of the modern day coach, who is more in tune with his players from a personal perspective.
That's not to say the likes of Denis Pagan didn't care about their players, but back then coaches were less involved with what happened away from the football club, and much less likely to show any emotion.
To be outwardly emotional, as Beveridge has been, is incredibly powerful.
Still, from Tuesday onwards I think you'd find a completely different coach behind closed doors at the Whitten Oval.
Once you've grieved for a few days you've got to get on with the job and focus on what lies ahead.
As young leaders, Easton Wood and Marcus Bontempelli face a similar challenge. They must support their teammates, but as the match draws closer they also need to show a certain strength and resolve.
In the short term, the Dogs will get some relief with the return of Luke Dahlhaus and Jake Stringer.
As a team, their ability to win the footy and defend has been outstanding, but their lack of firepower becomes even more of an issue with Redpath gone for the year and Stringer likely to be sore for some time.
It gives Tom Boyd another chance to find his feet and this really is a great opportunity for him to stand up and make something out of adversity.
Having said that, does Beveridge rob Peter to pay Paul, by throwing things around a little bit, conceding a few more goals, in a bid to kick more themselves?
While he might decide to stick with the game plan that's got the Dogs to this point, I'm not sure they can beat Hawthorn, or even Geelong, given their scoring issues.
If the Dogs didn't have the guys on the sidelines they do this year, I think they'd still be a genuine chance of winning the premiership, but perhaps not anymore.
That's not to say they can't win a final, as they've already proved to be extremely resilient in the past two seasons.
Beveridge took over in a period the club lost its chief executive, coach, captain Ryan Griffen, and then best and fairest winner Tom Liberatore to season-ending surgery.
Even this year, they've been without current skipper and spiritual leader, Bob Murphy, whose knee injury had a profound impact right across the AFL community.
No matter what happens for the remainder of 2016, Beveridge can put on his whiteboard: "We've been through this, this and this and it hasn't broken us."
The question now is; can the Dogs regroup and find another two or three per cent, in terms of effort?
While that remains to be seen, I wouldn't be backing against them to come out even stronger again.
The events of the past week have the ability to make or break the Western Bulldogs season.
It is a harsh reality that these young men need to dust themselves off and front up against Geelong, but, at the same time, the injuries to Mitch Wallis and Jack Redpath could galvanise the entire club and lead them to greater heights.
Hawthorn have overcome similar adversity in recent years, while Adelaide has thrived in a really testing 12 months since the death of Phil Walsh. That strength of character is what good clubs are built on.
Luke Beveridge was close to tears in his media conference on Tuesday when discussing how he felt about his players, and that emotion was refreshing to see.
Perhaps 20 years ago it would have been seen as a sign of weakness, but generally, now, we're much more aware of mental health, and much better at talking things through.
It wasn't all that long ago I criticised Brendon Goddard for crying after his first match against former club St Kilda. In hindsight I might have got that wrong, as I've come to realise that real men do show their emotions.
The scenes from the Bulldogs' rooms last Saturday night were quite graphic, because we could see how much pain Wallis was in and how it was affecting his teammates.
That grief doesn't go away instantly and really comes down to each individual – some players can shake it off, while others will be haunted for much longer.
We sit back and watch these guys and expect them to be perfect and always in control, but the reality is there are so many things going on in their lives that we don't know about.
That's why Beveridge must be applauded.
To see your leader be truly moved by a serious injury automatically brings everyone closer together and I think he's a great example of the modern day coach, who is more in tune with his players from a personal perspective.
That's not to say the likes of Denis Pagan didn't care about their players, but back then coaches were less involved with what happened away from the football club, and much less likely to show any emotion.
To be outwardly emotional, as Beveridge has been, is incredibly powerful.
Still, from Tuesday onwards I think you'd find a completely different coach behind closed doors at the Whitten Oval.
Once you've grieved for a few days you've got to get on with the job and focus on what lies ahead.
As young leaders, Easton Wood and Marcus Bontempelli face a similar challenge. They must support their teammates, but as the match draws closer they also need to show a certain strength and resolve.
In the short term, the Dogs will get some relief with the return of Luke Dahlhaus and Jake Stringer.
As a team, their ability to win the footy and defend has been outstanding, but their lack of firepower becomes even more of an issue with Redpath gone for the year and Stringer likely to be sore for some time.
It gives Tom Boyd another chance to find his feet and this really is a great opportunity for him to stand up and make something out of adversity.
Having said that, does Beveridge rob Peter to pay Paul, by throwing things around a little bit, conceding a few more goals, in a bid to kick more themselves?
While he might decide to stick with the game plan that's got the Dogs to this point, I'm not sure they can beat Hawthorn, or even Geelong, given their scoring issues.
If the Dogs didn't have the guys on the sidelines they do this year, I think they'd still be a genuine chance of winning the premiership, but perhaps not anymore.
That's not to say they can't win a final, as they've already proved to be extremely resilient in the past two seasons.
Beveridge took over in a period the club lost its chief executive, coach, captain Ryan Griffen, and then best and fairest winner Tom Liberatore to season-ending surgery.
Even this year, they've been without current skipper and spiritual leader, Bob Murphy, whose knee injury had a profound impact right across the AFL community.
No matter what happens for the remainder of 2016, Beveridge can put on his whiteboard: "We've been through this, this and this and it hasn't broken us."
The question now is; can the Dogs regroup and find another two or three per cent, in terms of effort?
While that remains to be seen, I wouldn't be backing against them to come out even stronger again.
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