AFL news 2025: Luke Beveridge has positive contract talks with Western Bulldogs

Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge has moved closer to securing a contract extension with the club, regardless of Thursday night’s result against Geelong.

The Western Bulldogs will ramp up contract talks with premiership coach Luke Beveridge within days after a positive meeting with club powerbrokers in the last fortnight.

Beveridge’s Dogs are flying as the No.1 attack in football, prompting the club to commit to discussions in the mid-season bye.

Dogs chief executive Ameet Bains earlier this year said the club had not ruled out an extension at some stage during the season.

The Western Bulldogs have a huge chance to push their top-four credentials on Thursday, pushing for a third-consecutive win in Geelong.

But, regardless, those talks between Beveridge and the club will kick off after that clash as the club heads into its round 12 bye.

Luke Beveridge. (Photo by Morgan Hancock/Getty Images)

Those talks might still take some time to be finalised but his regular meetings with Bains, president Kyle Watson-Wheeler and football director Luke Darcy mean the senior staff have been in constant discussion about the timeline for his future.

A recent discussion made clear the timeline for an actual contract for the 2016 premiership coach.

Beveridge told Fox Footy’s AFL360 on Monday night that discussions were imminent.

“You are talking about my tenure?,” Beveridge said.

“I know we have both been talking about stability and sustainability.

“We are morphing into this partnership again where we are looking at sustainability and thinking out of the (2023) Peter Jackson review how healthy are we off the field?

“And the club’s vision of what is ahead? I think we are in consent that we are on the right path. As far as formalising something goes it may not be too far away.”

Beveridge would expect a deal of at least two seasons – which would give him the stability to continue building for the future.

He has managed the list with new youngsters including Joel Freijah, Ryley Sanders, James O’Donnell and Rylee West who have all played key roles this year.

The club has senior veterans Adam Treloar and Liam Jones as tests after soft-tissue concerns, while Sam Darcy might only be weeks away from a return from a knee issue.

The brilliant young key tall could return a fortnight after the bye as he ramps up his running on grass in coming days after a knee concern.

He is listed as two to five weeks away after a bone concern to his knee that also had some medial ligament damage.

Originally published as AFL news 2025: Luke Beveridge has positive contract talks with Western Bulldogs