The Western Bulldogs’ football staff and players met at St Kilda Sea Baths on Tuesday to thrash out the issues that have bedevilled their season rather than conducting a standard review of their loss to Hawthorn.
The meeting comes as pressure grows on the team to deliver on internal expectations, shared by the club’s top officials in the pre-season, that they would make the finals this season after an off-season review that led to significant changes to the football department and the coaching staff surrounding their coach Luke Beveridge.
Marcus Bontempelli and Adam Treloar look dejected after the Bulldogs’ shock loss to the Hawks.Credit: AFL Photos
After a reasonable start to the season the club have lost four of their past five matches to sit 11th on the ladder with just three wins.
New football manager Matthew Egan, who joined the club from Geelong in the off-season, said the lack of consistency so far was disappointing and discussions about what was happening needed to take precedence over watching vision, which would occur on Wednesday.
“We can be successful this year, there is no doubt about that,” Egan said. “We are definitely in to win this year and at the moment we still have some players who are trying to learn their position.”
Egan said the club didn’t make finals in 2023, so it was incumbent on the coaching staff to make changes to find the right blend that could drive them to success. He said some quality players such as Caleb Daniel were out of form and there were other players who were still adjusting to the system.
He praised the coach and said he was disappointed in the tone of some of the criticism directed at Beveridge.
“He has definitely got the energy up for sure,” Egan said. “I have never seen a coach connect as well as I have with ‘Bevo’ with his players. His ability to story-tell and create a narrative week to week with the players is amazing. His attention to detail with how he connects one on one.”
Egan praised Beveridge’s willingness to speak directly to individual players about the reasons for his decisions and said his relationship with players was his “absolute weapon”.
He said the pair had developed a bond and that bond allowed him to challenge Beveridge, and they were willing to engage in tough conversations because of their mutual respect.
The pressure is mounting for Luke Beveridge.Credit: AFL Photos
“We have seen teams in this position and know we can turn it around,” Egan said.
Bulldogs’ midfielder Adam Treloar backed Egan’s comments, saying the players must shoulder the responsibility for their below-par performances this season.
The veteran midfielder, who crossed from Collingwood at the end of 2020, also said he loved playing under Beveridge, and poor execution of plans was costing the Bulldogs.
“We knew there was going to be a bit of pressure but as a playing group we wholeheartedly take responsibility for the performances we are putting out there,” Treloar said.
“The last two games clearly haven’t been up to scratch for us.”
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