Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge hits back at Port Adelaide chairman David Koch

Luke Beveridge has shot down Port Adelaide chairman David Koch’s claims his players made ‘culturally insensitive’ remarks, while also questioning the Power’s handling of the saga.

Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge has shot down David Koch’s claims his players were at all to blame for Willie Rioli’s post-game threats, issuing a warning to the Port Adelaide chairman and declaring his club will “remember it for next time”.

Setting the scene for a fiery rematch when the teams next meet in 2026, Beveridge took exception to Koch’s claims Bulldogs players made “culturally insensitive” remarks during the round 8 smashing in Ballarat, after which Rioli’s threats to Bailey Dale were revealed.

Rioli was given a one-match suspension by the AFL after previous incidents of a similar nature came to light, and Power chairman Koch said comments from other players, including the Bulldogs, played a part in the “build-up and frustrations”.

But on Friday Beveridge was having none of it and even said Koch was “enabling” Rioli and his behaviour.

“I can tell you as a matter of fact that the comments weren’t culturally insensitive,” Beveridge said.

“It surprises me that he (Koch) would insinuate or accuse our players of going down that track.

Port Adelaide chairman David Koch said the Bulldogs players made ‘culturally insensitive’ remarks. Picture: Brett Hartwig

“Especially our football club and our people, high character, we’d never disrespect First Nations people in our language or our actions.

“I said at the time Willie’s made a mistake, we’ll forgive and we’ll move on and he’ll learn from it.

“Will he learn from it if his own club’s enabling him by making excuses for him?

“There’s always a little bit of edginess in the way players talk to each other, but our players would never say anything to an Indigenous player that’s culturally insensitive.

“But we won’t ask for an apology, we’ll just obviously remember it for next time.”

Rioli is back in action this week against Geelong, one of the teams he was accused of behaving improperly against in 2024.

But Beveridge reiterated his players, including Dale, would not engage in any of the on-field behaviour Koch accused them of.

Luke Beveridge and Bailey Dale, the subject of one of Willie Rioli’s threats. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

“Bailey Dale, who wouldn’t agitate a milkshake, he’s an outstanding player but he’s not an adversarial, front-foot type of player. He plays football,” Beveridge said.

“He wanted to move on extremely quickly because he was surprised by what had happened.

“We thought it was behind us. I’m sure the AFL feel the same, so I’m not sure why that angle has come up after the fact now.

“Maybe it’s because Willie’s back playing this week, I don’t know.”

Powell-Pepper: We will always have Willie’s back

– Simeon Thomas-Wilson

Port Adelaide leadership group member Sam Powell-Pepper says he and the rest of the forward line will have Willie Rioli’s back when he returns to the field against Geelong.

Rioli has been named by Port – who will be known as Yartapuulti – to take on the Cats in the Power’s Sir Doug Nicholls Round home game on Saturday.

The small forward comes into the side along with Logan Evans with Jed McEntee dropped and Kane Farrell out after having knee surgery.

Rioli returns to the side after he withdrew – and then was banned by the AFL – from the team that played in the Showdown after the emergence of threats on and off field to players.

Following the sanction, the Power issued a statement that for its star small forward and other First Nations and multicultural players they were subject to on field comments that while they “may not seem racial on the surface, can be interpreted as racist to a First Nations or multicultural person who has endured systematic racist comments since they were young enough to recall”.

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Willie Rioli at Port Adelaide training. Picture: Tim Joy

Power coach Ken Hinkley has said he would “doubt that anyone would go there” when asked if opponents would try and play on Rioli’s emotions in-game when he returns to action.

Powell-Pepper said he and the rest of the Power’s forward line would be ready to stand up for Rioli if it did happen against the Cats – with one of the incidents of Rioli threatening a player happened against last year.

“Willie is probably one of the most resilient people that I have met, he has gone through so much in life and I classify him as one of my close brothers,” Powell-Pepper said.

“He has done pretty well this week, all the boys have gotten around him. One of the things I love about Port Adelaide is that we rally around our players and really take care of each other.

“I think we missed him last week, he might have been the difference, so it will be good to have him back.

“Yeah definitely we will always have Willie’s back, but it is not just Willie as a forward line and as a team we have each other’s back.

“This week we will have Willie’s this week but I don’t think there will be too much out there after what has been happening.

“Hopefully we can let our footy do the talking.”

Powell-Pepper said he was proud of the club’s stance and while he hadn’t received a comment on the field that contained cultural disrespect, he had witnessed it.

“Me personally no but I have seen it happen before and even before footy being brought up around all that stuff,” he said.

“So I know how much it hurts.”

Powell-Pepper was speaking as more than 700 Indigenous students from South Australia, the Northern Territory and APY Lands descended on Alberton Oval for the Santos Power Aboriginal Cup.

When he was growing up in Western Australia, the visit of West Coast stars Nic Naitanui and Mark LeCras – and his comment that he had a footy in his hand wherever he went – stayed with Powell-Pepper.

“Ever since my first year at the club I have found it exciting to come down and get around the young people,” he said.

“They get so much out of it... it is such a special day not just for them but the club as well.”

Originally published as Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge hits back at Port Adelaide chairman David Koch