There are divergent pulls on the Western Bulldogs. Maybe even they are unsure of their exact destination.
Luke Beveridge, the coach under pressure, best illustrated this in his remarks from the previous week.
After receiving conflicting feedback on his assessment of the Dogs’ inconsistent start to the season following Friday night’s loss to Essendon, Beveridge claimed he didn’t mean to send out “mixed” messages.
The Dogs coach made it clear that they weren’t in a rebuild, calling the concept a “myth” in the current context, and that their goal was to win right away. However, he added that the club’s All-Australian mainstays dropping down the rankings as a result of odd selection decisions was a natural progression for his team, which prioritizes developing young players for larger roles and the long-term goal.
Without really admitting it, Beveridge effectively accepted that his 2-3 team isn’t a contender.
Is this ranking underachieving again, though, considering that the fifth-most experienced team in terms of games played last weekend fielded the fourth-oldest team?
“They ought to be competitive and ready to go on that (age profile). According to former Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley, “the coach said that ‘our best is going to be good enough’ in pre-season,” Fox Footy’s On the Couch said.
“I thought Beveridge’s remarks following the Essendon defeat conveyed a mixed message from the coach as he tries to shield his players,” the author said. Let’s say (Lachie) Bramble vs (Caleb) Daniel; is he attempting to shield Bramble’s performance or is he unwilling to state that Daniel is not on the team for A, B, and C?
He didn’t want to go right in, but I believe they’re now in the interim. The younger guys aren’t ready, or the more experienced players aren’t stepping up
They must make a decision regarding their course of action. Right now, the messages are conflicting.
Granted, it makes natural that the Dogs would investigate radical adjustments and a rejuvenation throughout 2024 given their dismal performance in recent years, which included missing the playoffs entirely in the previous season.
“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result,” Beveridge declared emphatically on the eve of the season.
However, it seems like they have been wanting to go both ways since last year, and as pressure mounts, they must now choose a lane.
Given the quantity of talent at Whitten Oval and the fact that the majority of the football community has been optimistic about the Bulldogs, CEO Ameet Bains stated in August of last year that the team believes it has a top four list. The Dogs were slightly outside the top four in terms of percentage when Bains made the statement.
After reviewing its football operations, the team reorganized its coaching staff around Beveridge in the off-season. It added players like Nick Coffield, James Harmes, and Lachie Bramble to its roster. These moves were indicative of a team looking to win now but thinking it needed to make a few adjustments. The team also traded three first-round picks (10, 17, and a future first) to acquire Ryley Sanders.
That made sense, but Caleb Daniel was a substitute in Round 1 and Jack Macrae began the season in the VFL, although while recovering from an injury. Contrary to what we had before and still hear, there was a sign the team was heading in a new, younger route and didn’t like its prospects of spiking even before a ball was bounced in 2024.
After four rounds, with the team behind 2-2, Bailey Dale, another All-Australian, was dropped to the supporting role.
Leigh Montagna, a former player for St Kilda, said that Beveridge’s decision made a “statement” and that the club now faced a “different challenge” since “players now know” the situation.
One year in St Kilda, it was declared that a renovation will commence following Round 4. On Fox Footy’s The First Crack, he stated, “It just took the air out of the place.”
“What are we doing now that we know this is just a rebuild year and we’re getting games into kids?” was the sentiment shared by everybody.
Once more, it makes perfect sense that the Dogs were willing to change and try new things. However, it makes more sense to start the season with your best foot forward and see how successful you can be, especially for a team full of stars like the Dogs, much like even the lowest-ranked teams with less optimism.
Examine your current situation and your potential for improvement with fresh additions and an additional year of training from notable players such as Sam Darcy, Ed Richards, Rhylee West, Cody Weightman, and Jamarra Ugle-Hagan, in addition to industry veterans like Marcus Bontempelli and Tom Liberatore. Alan Naughton and Tim English.
If things don’t work out, start rearranging the magnets, adding new people, and having children knock on the door.
Furthermore, you should definitely try rearranging less skilled players rather than the more seasoned group. Given how stacked the Dogs’ midfield is, you can sort of understand why Macrae dropped down the ladder. The 29-year-old midfielder’s on-ball minutes were already reduced last year.
With all due respect, though, Bramble and O’Donnell aren’t worthy of a spot in the starting lineup against players like Daniel and Dale—at least not after four games with a 2-2 score.
Senior athletes would be asking themselves, “Wait a second, what’s the coach doing? Are we trying our hand at this one as we approach the premiership window? Triple Premiership Lion Jonathan Brown asked on On the Couch, “Or are we rebuilding?
“You never want to be on a team that does that as a senior player.”
Given how Daniel is being used at the VFL level, his predicament makes even less sense.
“I hope Blake is receiving the message that he won’t be playing AFL footy at halfback, as Luke Beveridge has effectively told him. Because he returned to the VFL and was a halfback,” Herald Sun writer Sam Landsberger stated on Fox Footy’s Midweek Tackle on Wednesday.
“I’m not sure he plays his way back into the team, playing halfback at VFL level, if they don’t see him as a halfback.”
Why didn’t the Dogs put players like Macrae, Daniel, and Dale on the trade table at the end of the previous season, when they naturally had more value and could have brought in more long-term assets, if they had known all along that they might be marginalized and possibly dumped to the VFL?
“I believe the Dogs made the decision to play the kids during the off-season. Chief Herald Sun reporter Mark Robinson stated on Fox Footy’s AFL 360, “I think they’ve made enormous list management mistakes.”
“I believe that the Dogs are the first group affected by these extended contracts. They inked long-term contracts with Macrae, Dale, and Daniel, but they are not on the team. What then will they do with them? They will need to exchange them for something else.
Sanders has been substituted out twice this season, which is another confusing issue. Beveridge declared during the preseason that Sanders was the best first-year player he had ever seen walk into Whitten Oval.
It’s odd that their most valued young midfielder and one of their best overall teenagers has occasionally found himself in the figurative sin bin if the Dogs are placing more faith in and prioritizing the development of their youth.
Especially considering that, prior to being replaced in the third quarter against Essendon, Sanders had eight disposals and five tackles in 42% of the game.
It’s true that we are unaware of Sanders’ precise responsibilities and whether he was falling short in any of them. But it seems strange at first.
What does this mean for the Dogs—the present, the future, or something in between? Beveridge’s tenure is running out while he attempts to resolve that. Moreover, he appears to be operating independently of other senior authorities at the Kennel at the moment.
Renovating on the fly is perfectly acceptable. Sydney and Geelong are two teams who have mastered it, and even though the Dogs have added some veteran players, it is obvious that they are in a phase of gradual rebuilding.
There’s a belief that, given the risks involved, the worst situation for clubs to be in is ignorance of their current status, which seems to be what the Dogs are in at the moment.
That perhaps the Dogs are just one of the AFL’s biggest mysteries, making it difficult to understand who they are and where they’re headed.
