Change coming for Dogs after finals meltdown

1 year ago 104

The Western Bulldogs' stunning exit successful the archetypal week of the finals could beryllium followed by a reshuffling successful the coaches' box aft a twelvemonth filled with inconsistencies.

After finishing 2nd to Melbourne past year, the Bulldogs were ne'er capable to enactment unneurotic a drawstring of accordant shot this season, lone sneaking into the finals connected the last time of the location and distant play aft a illness from Carlton.

Luke Beveridge's broadside coughed up a 41-point pb to Fremantle successful Saturday's elimination final, and according to The Age's Caroline Wilson, the finals nonaccomplishment is much grounds the 2016 premiership-winner needs help.

The Bulldogs' play began with a bang erstwhile Beveridge infamously clashed with then-Fox Sports newsman Tom Morris, and Wilson said the 52-year-old continued to beryllium excessively preoccupied with leaks.

"They perfectly request to bring successful caller coaches," she told Nine's Footy Classified.

"He (Beveridge) needs immoderate caller assistants and helium needs immoderate stronger radical astir him.

"There's been a view, for me, that helium has excessively large a say. He tries to tally excessively overmuch astatine that footy club, helium worries excessively overmuch astir what's getting retired successful the media. I deliberation helium needs to halt worrying astir each that stuff.

"I anticipation the CEO is lasting up to him, but I deliberation they benignant of creep astir him sometimes."

Essendon large Matthew Lloyd was highly captious of the Bulldogs' performance, saying the nonaccomplishment was much damaging than the 1 successful past year's expansive final.

"They've been mode disconnected the pace," helium told Footy Classified.

"Against top-eight sides, (they're) 3 wins and 8 losses."

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"I deliberation this is simply a worse nonaccomplishment than past year. Melbourne were a large broadside and they conscionable fell isolated successful the past quarter.

"But this one, against a young Fremantle broadside who had 4 blokes who'd played finals (previously), they looked similar they were a cervid successful the headlights.

"The defence was not worked retired each year. I don't deliberation Liam Jones is going to hole it, I don't deliberation Rory Lobb is going to hole it, I deliberation it's a strategy contented for the Western Bulldogs."

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