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Has Bevo drunk too much of his own bathwater? Or is he taking us on a journey to long term AFL dominance?
Luke Beveridge quickly ascended to the ranks of football divinity when in his first year he rescued a side in crisis and took it back to the finals for the first time in 5 years and then in his second year took this promising but inexperienced side to a totally unanticipated premiership. No side had ever won from seventh before. No side had ever won two interstate finals to get to the GF.
As a godlike figure he had the keys to the Whitten Oval. He could have a contract for as long as he wanted and he was beyond any serious criticism.
Then something happened.
The wheels fell off in 2017 with players out of form, wholesale changes to the roles of the assistant coaches a severe dip in form and the forced ejection of a high profile player at the end of the year. We missed the finals one year after winning the flag.
At the start of 2018 the mood was again upbeat. Libba was back on track, there were some good recruits and some handy players arrived via trade. We started the year with almost a clean sheet on the injury front. 2017 was just going to be a blip on the progress of this new dynasty of Bullgods.
But it wasn’t. Apart from offloading Stringer we found a way to lose the two men who had managed our list and recruiting leading up to the flag. At least one of them, Dalrymple, seems to have left as a result of a disagreement with Beveridge. We desperately missed the leadership of two of the most respected men to play for the club this century: Bob Murphy and Matt Boyd had retired. Bevo himself – the weaver of stories – pondered out loud the difficulty of finding a new narrative for his young side. Then the season began disastrously with thrashings from GWS and West Coast. Serious injuries to star players started piling up. The side never recovered despite a run of wins against lowly opposition in April and May.
Heading towards a difficult game against finals bound Port Adelaide this week, the Dogs have only won one of their last nine games. Our recent form is worse than every other side in the competition except Carlton and possibly St Kilda.
Good reasons can be found for the poor form. We have close to the worst injury list in the AFL and it has been like that for most of the year. This has meant fielding the youngest and least experienced side in almost every round.
However, I wonder whether these contributing issues have taken some attention away from the performance of the coach. While still a fan of his, I have some concerns about Beveridge. He should not be above analysis and if necessary, criticism. Consider these matters which have all been discussed in isolation at different times on this board:
However I am getting concerned that Beveridge may be too stubborn for our own good. Admittedly I am a long way from Whitten Oval but I get the sense that it’s his way or the highway ... and that is usually not a healthy thing. Has he eliminated or ground into submission the diversity of opinions and alternative viewpoints that a healthy club needs?
I think he is possibly one of the best team-builders and people managers among all current AFL coaches. Most observers agreed that it was a dominant factor in that glorious finals campaign of 2016. The players seem to love him. However I think he is just average (not the best, not the worst) as far as long-term footballing strategy and match day tactics are concerned. We have often surmised in match day threads - sometimes with good justification - that he has been outcoached.
I’d be interested in others’ viewpoints on this. It raises questions such as:
Is Beveridge playing the long game? Is he so far ahead of the game in terms of tactics and strategy that we just can’t see what he’s building towards?
Will all of this turmoil in 2017-18 be vindicated with a resurgence in 2019? Or is he perhaps a fast-burn coach who ignites a club for a while but soon loses currency and potency, needing to be replaced in another year or two?
Can we shore up his perceived tactical and strategic shortcomings with the recruitment of some strong-minded assistant coaches in the off-season? Or will they just butt heads with Beveridge until they are sidelined or decide to leave?
Luke Beveridge quickly ascended to the ranks of football divinity when in his first year he rescued a side in crisis and took it back to the finals for the first time in 5 years and then in his second year took this promising but inexperienced side to a totally unanticipated premiership. No side had ever won from seventh before. No side had ever won two interstate finals to get to the GF.
As a godlike figure he had the keys to the Whitten Oval. He could have a contract for as long as he wanted and he was beyond any serious criticism.
Then something happened.
The wheels fell off in 2017 with players out of form, wholesale changes to the roles of the assistant coaches a severe dip in form and the forced ejection of a high profile player at the end of the year. We missed the finals one year after winning the flag.
At the start of 2018 the mood was again upbeat. Libba was back on track, there were some good recruits and some handy players arrived via trade. We started the year with almost a clean sheet on the injury front. 2017 was just going to be a blip on the progress of this new dynasty of Bullgods.
But it wasn’t. Apart from offloading Stringer we found a way to lose the two men who had managed our list and recruiting leading up to the flag. At least one of them, Dalrymple, seems to have left as a result of a disagreement with Beveridge. We desperately missed the leadership of two of the most respected men to play for the club this century: Bob Murphy and Matt Boyd had retired. Bevo himself – the weaver of stories – pondered out loud the difficulty of finding a new narrative for his young side. Then the season began disastrously with thrashings from GWS and West Coast. Serious injuries to star players started piling up. The side never recovered despite a run of wins against lowly opposition in April and May.
Heading towards a difficult game against finals bound Port Adelaide this week, the Dogs have only won one of their last nine games. Our recent form is worse than every other side in the competition except Carlton and possibly St Kilda.
Good reasons can be found for the poor form. We have close to the worst injury list in the AFL and it has been like that for most of the year. This has meant fielding the youngest and least experienced side in almost every round.
However, I wonder whether these contributing issues have taken some attention away from the performance of the coach. While still a fan of his, I have some concerns about Beveridge. He should not be above analysis and if necessary, criticism. Consider these matters which have all been discussed in isolation at different times on this board:
- The seemingly unnecessary switching of all coaching roles after 2016
- The abrupt sacking of Stringer
- The sudden departure of Dalrymple
- The single-minded campaign to develop versatility in nearly all players resulting in players performing below their best in unaccustomed roles
- His headscratching responses to our ruck weakness
- His inability to arrest opposition surges where we concede up to 8 goals a quarter
- His persistence with the high defensive press resulting in easy goals on the turnover seemingly every week
- Puzzling team selections which seem at times to defy exposed form
- Various match day tactical matters
However I am getting concerned that Beveridge may be too stubborn for our own good. Admittedly I am a long way from Whitten Oval but I get the sense that it’s his way or the highway ... and that is usually not a healthy thing. Has he eliminated or ground into submission the diversity of opinions and alternative viewpoints that a healthy club needs?
I think he is possibly one of the best team-builders and people managers among all current AFL coaches. Most observers agreed that it was a dominant factor in that glorious finals campaign of 2016. The players seem to love him. However I think he is just average (not the best, not the worst) as far as long-term footballing strategy and match day tactics are concerned. We have often surmised in match day threads - sometimes with good justification - that he has been outcoached.
I’d be interested in others’ viewpoints on this. It raises questions such as:
Is Beveridge playing the long game? Is he so far ahead of the game in terms of tactics and strategy that we just can’t see what he’s building towards?
Will all of this turmoil in 2017-18 be vindicated with a resurgence in 2019? Or is he perhaps a fast-burn coach who ignites a club for a while but soon loses currency and potency, needing to be replaced in another year or two?
Can we shore up his perceived tactical and strategic shortcomings with the recruitment of some strong-minded assistant coaches in the off-season? Or will they just butt heads with Beveridge until they are sidelined or decide to leave?