Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge declares finals still possible for Bulldogs

It was another case of so close, yet so far for the Western Bulldogs, but Luke Beveridge has declared finals are still in the picture, sending a stark message to his side.

Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge says his team will need to win their five remaining regular season games to play finals football after being beaten by 10 points by Brisbane at the Gabba on Friday night.

The ninth-placed Bulldogs are likely to be two wins outside the top eight by the end of the weekend, with Beveridge admitting his side can ill-afford another slip up in its bid to reach the finals.

The Bulldogs finish their regular season with games against Essendon, GWS Giants, Melbourne, West Coast and Fremantle, all of which are in Melbourne.

“They’re all crucial,” Beveridge said.

“We can’t (look) too far ahead. We’re just going to play three below us (Essendon, Melbourne and West Coast), and two above us (Giants and Fremantle).

Luke Beveridge declares the finals race still alive. Picture: Chris Hyde/AFL Photos/Getty Images

“You’d have to say we’d need to win them all.”

The Bulldogs’ loss to Brisbane was their eighth defeat in nine matches this season against teams currently above them on the ladder.

“It can be different things,” Beveridge said about the Bulldogs’ failure to deliver against the teams in the top eight.

“I could go into a whole series of things ... personnel, the variables in the game, but one of the things is you need your group to be totally committed to certain aspects of the defensive contest and stoppage phases, and you can’t do that inconsistently against the better sides.

“We’ve done it inconsistently against the better sides. We’ve got to keep chipping away at the defensive aspects.”

Beveridge was proud of his team’s ability to stay in the fight against the Lions, who only sealed their 12.14 (86) to 12.4 (76) win with a goal on the final siren kicked by Will Ashcroft.

“Brisbane were probably the better side throughout the course of the night, but I like the way we persevered,” he said.

“We hung in there, but there’s some brilliance through their team and that told at different stages of the game.

“Obviously we’re disappointed because we always travel to win, but credit to Brisbane. They were just too good on the night.

“They came through the middle of the ground too often. They put kicks in there that we need to be able to defend.

“Our team defence, we need to do better. Regardless of who you play, as a team and as a group defending together, we just have to be more cohesive.”

Beveridge was confident that Laitham Vandermeer and James O’Donnell, who both suffered ankle injuries in the loss, would be fit for next Friday’s clash against the Bombers at Marvel Stadium.

High drama as Dogs painfully fail test again on wild night at Gabba

Brisbane wasted a host of opportunities but managed to ensure star midfielder Hugh McCluggage celebrated his 200th AFL appearance with a win by holding on to beat the Western Bulldogs by 10-points at the Gabba on Friday night.

The Bulldogs’ record against top-eight sides is now 1-8 after another competitive but disappointing defeat.

While the Lions defended strongly to restrict the competition’s best attacking team, their failure to capitalise on a host of forward 50-metres almost proved their undoing.

The Lions just got the job done. Picture: Getty Images

The Bulldogs cut Brisbane’s lead to only four points with just over a minute remaining when Rhylee West kicked his fourth goal of the night.

However, the Lions responded, with Will Ashcroft kicking the final goal of the game on the siren to seal Brisbane’s 12.14 (86) to 12.4 (76) win.

Brisbane’s wastefulness was particularly evident in the third quarter when they entered their 50-metre attacking zone 24 times to the Bulldogs’ eight, but could only manage three goals and seven behinds.

However, the second-placed Lions survived the scare to secure their 13th win of the season and keep the pressure on first-placed Collingwood.

In contrast, the Bulldogs have now suffered back-to-back defeats and remain outside the top eight.

Milestone man McCluggage finished with 27 disposals in another commanding display, while Bulldogs half-back Bailey Dale had a game-high 33 disposals.

Lions midfielder Josh Dunkley was also immense against his former club with 28 possessions and 14 tackles.

Dayne Zorko’s exquisite pass to Charlie Cameron who did the rest.

ZORKO IN THE WARS

Lions veteran Dayne Zorko finished the game battered, bruised and bloodied after copping a couple accidental blows from the Bulldogs.

Towards the end of the first quarter, Zorko left the field after his left foot was stomped on.

He quickly went down the tunnel, and there were fears that his night was over, with Brisbane coach Chris Fagan seemingly agitated at the thought of losing the in-form ex-Lions skipper for the rest of the contest.

However, much to the coach’s relief, 36-year Zorko was ready to return to action at the start of the second-quarter with his foot strapped.

Dayne Zorko had some injury trouble throughout the match. Picture: Getty Images

“He probably did get a jab in it,” Lions great and Fox Footy expert Alastair Lynch at half-time in speculating that Zorko also received a pain-killing injection.

Zorko seemed restricted in his running but battled on until late in the second quarter when he copped a stray and unintentional boot to the head from Bulldogs forward Riley Garcia.

The evergreen Lions stalwart was again forced to leave the field, this time with blood streaming from his forehead.

But nothing was going to stop Zorko returning to action for the start of the second-half with his head having been also strapped.

The Lions and Dogs clashed on Friday night. Picture: Getty Images

SCOREBOARD

LIONS 2.2 7.4 10.11 12.14 (86)

BULLDOGS 2.1 5.3 8.4 12.4 (76)

GOALS:

Lions: W Ashcroft 3, L Ashcroft 2, Berry 2, Lohmann 2, Cameron, Rayner, Morris

Bulldogs: West 4, Naughton 2, English, Garcia, Kennedy, Darcy, Freijah, Bontempelli

Rhylee West kicks one of his four goals.

BEST:

Lions: Dunkley, McCluggage, Lester, Fletcher, W Ashcroft

Bulldogs: West, Dale, Naughton, Bontempelli, Richards

INJURIES:

Lions: Zorko (foot)

Bulldogs: Vandermeer (ankle), O’Donnell (ankle)

CROWD: 29,039 at the Gabba

MARCO MONTEVERDE’S PLAYER OF THE YEAR VOTES

3. J. Dunkley (Lions)

2. B. Dale (Bulldogs)

1. H. McCluggage (Lions)

Current scenes at the Gabba 😬#AFLLionsDogshttps://t.co/KpbPOxuGzypic.twitter.com/lJcUAz24XW

— 7AFL (@7AFL) July 18, 2025

PRE-GAME: WILD WEATHER FORCES PLAYERS FROM THE FIELD

- Jon Ralph

Players were forced from the Gabba in the lead-in to the Brisbane v Western Bulldogs clash due to a ferocious storm which unleashed lightning and thunder within 10km of the stadium.

The game was able to start on time at 7.40pm despite a severe thunderstorm warning from the Bureau of Meteorology.

Players who normally acclimatise to conditions or kick the footy with teammates before the official warm-up were told they were unable to enter the Gabba surface on Friday night.

They eventually received clarification from the AFL that they were allowed onto the field roughly an hour before the bounce.

Restricted to doing media in the players’ race at the Gabba with no one allowed on the field due to lightning ⛈️ ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/VlY1EDejNV

— Nick Brown (@nickbbrown) July 18, 2025

The players got out onto the field in the end. Picture: Getty Images

Marcus Bontempelli completes his warm-up at the Gabba. Picture: Getty Images

The storm saw lightning within 10km of the stadium so under AFL safety rules players have to be cleared from the playing surface.

If the lightning occurs during a game the league will halt proceedings for a minimum of 20 minutes.

Once the game resumes under the discretion of the AFL football boss, players are given a five minute warm-up if the break is only 20 minutes or an eight minute warm-up if the break is 40 minutes or more.

There were no need for these protocols on Friday night.

Originally published as Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge declares finals still possible for Bulldogs