Is it Bevo’s fault? Maybe these Dogs aren’t as good as we imagined.
Throughout Luke Beveridge’s nine seasons as coach, evaluating the Western Bulldogs has never been so simple. And that hasn’t changed despite one of, if not the, most humiliating defeats in his 205 games in command on Sunday.
For all the humiliation of that loss to West Coast, one of the worst-performed teams of the modern era, with finals hopes squarely on the line; for all the white-hot anger of Bulldog fans after the game, and for all their calls for Beveridge’s sacking, all is not yet quite lost.
As tough a task as will be beating Geelong on its home turf, for once it will be a Geelong without anything September-related for which to play. Win an admittedly unlikely victory, then see Carlton beat the Giants the following afternoon, and the Bulldogs will still be playing finals.Would that appease the Bulldog faithful? Probably not. But then the Bulldogs under Beveridge have been a team specializing in the unlikely surge.
The Bulldogs were ostensibly travelling pretty well at 7-3 after Round 10. But only three of those wins were against current top eight teams. And since then? The Dogs have gone a miserable 4-8, and not a single one of those victories has been against an opponent from the upper echelon.
Pre-season, all the talk was about the potential of the Dogs’ tall forward set-up. In reality, it’s been a non-event.
While Aaron Naughton and Jamarra Ugle-Hagan, plus Cody Weightman at their feet, have all had their moments, as a group they’ve rarely clicked as one, the Dogs only 10th for points scored after ranking fifth last year and second in 2021. That’s despite high rankings for inside 50s and time in forward half. In other words, text book inefficiency.
It’s actually been their defence, along with solid enough midfield numbers, which has held things together, but now the walls are beginning to crumble, meaning the Dogs can’t score enough and are getting score against too easily, West Coast’s 14.8 (92) the Eagles’ second-highest score of the season, their average prior to Sunday a miserable 60 points per game.
Their ball movement is slow and stodgy, the Dogs ranking a lowly 16th prior to Sunday for defensive to offensive 50 transition, a statistic in which every single one of the last 10 premiership sides has ranked at least top six. It’s not the profile of an aspiring top team.
And the coach? It’s a pretty interesting juncture for Beveridge, who was re-signed only late last year for another two seasons. He was asked directly after Sunday’s loss about his future despite that tenure. You suspect not for the last time, either.
Many hardcore Bulldog fans certainly seem to have fallen out of love even with the man who gave the club just its second premiership in 2016. And the Beveridge of 2023 certainly seems a more prickly and defensive character than the one of those glorious flag-winning days of seven years ago.
Sunday’s loss to West Coast might well have been the lowest point for both the Bulldogs and their coach of the past decade. That could potentially be surpassed by another bad loss at the Cattery on Saturday night, and a season without finals for the first time since 2018.
But then what happens if the Bulldogs … well, do another Bulldogs, make the eight and launch another unlikely finals run? You can never be quite sure with this mob. Maybe their coach can’t, either.