A leading AFL journalist believes that a loss this Sunday for Luke Beveridge could spell the end of his tenure as coach of the Western Bulldogs, after a horror start to 2024.
Sitting at 3-5 after eight rounds, the critics are circling around the 2016 premiership coach, with reports that it’s either finals or bust for Beveridge this year.
The Dogs are the home of superstars such as Marcus Bontempelli, Tom Liberatore, Tim English, Jamarra Ugle-Hagan, Bailey Dale – the list goes on.
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But after missing finals last year due to a Round 23 loss to West Coast, the heat was already on Beveridge and his star-studded list heading into this year.
Two months on, and the temperature has only increased in the furnace at Whitten Oval.
Speaking on Fox Footy’s AFL 360, Herald Sun’s Chief Football Writer Mark Robinson dissected the coach’s current state of play.
“I admire coaches who are a little bit different, but always there comes a game where that faith is questioned,” Robinson started by saying.
“I would think the party’s nearing an end for Luke Beveridge.
“I’ve been a supporter of him all the way through – I admire coaches who are a little bit different, but always there comes a game where that faith is questioned,”
Having beaten only Gold Coast, West Coast and St Kilda this season, the Dogs are yet to defeat a side who look to seriously challenge the top eight this year.
And their critics have now reached an all-time high, after a shock loss to the lowly-ranked Hawthorn on Sunday at Marvel Stadium.
“There comes a time when the coach will put his head on a pillow, and ask himself: ‘Am I getting the best out of this group?’ Robinson continued.
“I think Beveridge will put his head down and say ‘you know what, it’s been great, it’s my 10th year – I’m not getting through (to the playing group).
“Right now, they’ve got Richmond this week – if they lose to Richmond, I fully expect Luke Beveridge to wake up and say ‘right, it’s been great but I’ve got to go.’”
The seven-point loss gave the Hawks their second win for 2024, who now only sit one game behind the Dogs.
“I don’t think their list is as good as others have said, but I certainly haven’t got them losing to Hawthorn with the quality senior players they’ve got,” Robinson added.
“The talls in the forward line; if they fly against each other one more time, fair dinkum Gerard – I’ll pull your hair out!
“It’s so frustrating; they haven’t played a lot together, but they’ve got to start working out what’s going on there,”
“They’re not going to sack him, there’ll be a decision before that,”
Channel 9’s Tom Morris reported on Monday night that ‘the pressure is building’, with one pre-requisite vital if the 10-year coach is to continue at ‘The Kennel’.
“I can tell you tonight that the future of Luke Beveridge rests almost entirely on whether the club plays finals or not – it would take something extraordinary for Beveridge to keep his job if the Dogs miss the top eight this year,” Morris said.
“In a roundabout way, that’s essentially what the club leaders have said for several weeks now.”
The Bulldogs play Richmond this Saturday night at the MCG, in a fixture that now means far more than most would have guessed at the start of the year.
