Jon Pierik
Sports journalist for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald
The Western Bulldogs are keen to lock in premiership coach Luke Beveridge with a contract extension before the 2023 campaign, but the length of his new deal is one of the more intriguing off-season discussions.
As clubs prepare for the official start of pre-season training, Beveridge, Port Adelaide’s Ken Hinkley and Brisbane’s Chris Fagan are the only senior coaches without a contract beyond 2023.
Bulldogs sources say both parties are comfortable where things sit, with Beveridge keen to extend. The Dogs do not want Beveridge’s future to become an unwanted distraction, for he recently was linked to the vacant – but now taken – roles at St Kilda (where he played 45 games, and his father is a recruiting legend) and Essendon.
On the hunt: Luke Beveridge is seeking a contract extension with the Western Bulldogs.Credit:AFL Photos / Getty Images
To avoid supporter and media conjecture, and the pressure that comes with it, the Bulldogs need to offer him more than a one-year extension – an option they are considering – for a deal only to the end of 2024 would suggest he is coaching for his future as early as this season.
However, the Bulldogs may want 52-year-old Beveridge on edge, hoping this narrows his attention to on-field matters. He was, publicly at least, distracted at times last season by what was said and written in the media.
A two-year extension, effectively a three-year deal when next season is included, is a safe landing space for both parties, but still reinforces the urgency there is to claim another flag. Marcus Bontempelli, 27 this month, Jack Macrae, 28, Caleb Daniel, 26, and Tom Liberatore, 30, are in their prime, and Aaron Naughton, 23 this month, Bailey Smith, 22 in December, and Tim English, 25, entering that phase.
Anything longer would be a considerable show of faith, taking his tenure beyond a decade.
Beveridge has already coached the second most games in Bulldogs history (183), having this year eclipsed Rodney Eade and Charlie Sutton, and a new contract almost certainly would mean he passes Ted Whitten snr (212).
That he led the Bulldogs to the breakthrough 2016 premiership, only the second in club history, has given Beveridge significant credit points. A trip to the 2021 grand final eased supporter chat that the Bulldogs were wasting what shaped as an era of dominance. But that they have yet to finish in the top four in his eight seasons remains a point of frustration among members and supporters.
This year they were unable to match last year’s grand-final run, finishing seventh on the ladder, a particular point of internal concern being they had only three wins, with eight losses, against top-eight sides. Then came the squandering of a 41-point lead to bomb out in the elimination final against a Fremantle side that had only four players who previously had played in a final.
Where do they stand ahead of 2023? Top-eight contenders, definitely, but who really knows? They are something of an enigma. The recruitment of veteran defender Liam Jones and Fremantle forward Rory Lobb suggests they are all in on chasing a flag.
Youngsters Jamarra Ugle-Hagan and Sam Darcy shape as match-winning long-term pieces, but it’s inconsistency that has haunted this team despite boasting an enviable midfield.
Onlookers are curious whether Beveridge will tinker with or abandon his zone defence. The Dogs ranked 15th for defending ball movement last season; defending the mark, and not sagging off, may also be a necessary change, this helping to slow opposition attacks.
There were mixed reviews of their trade period. They lost best and fairest Josh Dunkley to Brisbane but extracted pick 21 in this month’s national draft, a future first- and future second-round pick, plus a future fourth, which is tied to Geelong.
Premiership midfielder Lachie Hunter, who has dealt with off-field issues, and inconsistent tall Josh Schache have gone to Melbourne, while defender Zaine Cordy is now a Saint.
The league-mandated increase in football department spending will help Beveridge, who last season spoke of the added pressure and wellbeing issues clubs were feeling because of “reduced budgets” as a result of the pandemic.
He has a new senior assistant, with the Bulldogs hoping the experienced Brendon Lade provides fresh direction. He has been tasked with revamping a midfield now without Dunkley and Hunter. Lade, a premiership ruckman with Port Adelaide, can also help English’s development, the Dogs missing Steven King in this area last year after the experienced assistant joined the Gold Coast Suns.
Lade will work closely with Marc Webb, who had been midfield coach but now has a greater focus on stoppages and opposition strategy, along with other responsibilities. Dave Newton, who previously managed the club’s next generation academy, has shifted to football operations, working closely with football department chief Chris Grant.
The Dogs continue to back Beveridge – it’s now over to him to get the job done.
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