Nathan Brown says Mitch Wallis will leave the Western Bulldogs at the end of the season
DUAL All Australian Western Bulldog Nathan Brown says free agent Mitch Wallis will this year leave the club that drafted him as a father-son. How did he fall out of favour at the Dogs?
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DUAL All Australian Western Bulldog Nathan Brown says free agent Mitch Wallis will this year leave the club that drafted him as a father-son.
The Dogs were on Sunday dubbed a one-hit wonder by AFL legend Leigh Matthews after the 2016 premiers lost their third straight game by a total margin of 121 points.
The son of Steve Wallis has been left out of the Bulldogs side in three separate stints since Round 23 last year.
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The Dogs started brightly against Melbourne but by game’s end had kicked just seven goals in a 49-point defeat.
Wallis’ management is due to discuss his contract with the Dogs during the mid-year bye but Brown suggested he might seek greener pastures.
“There are some real issues down there at the moment. There are a lot of players I am hearing aren’t happy,’’ he said.
“Mitch Wallis’ name has been thrown up. He is out of the side at the moment. From what I have been told maybe he isn’t playing inside the team rules or where he is expected to play according to Luke Beveridge.
“I don’t think he will be at that footy club next year and it’s a shame because he has such great heritage at that club.”
He disagreed with football boss Chris Grant’s comments in the Herald Sun that the Dogs expected some growing pains after the 2016 flag.
“Are they saying they were lucky in that period? If they are the quotes coming from the coach and Chris Grant, if I was a player I would be saying it wasn’t (luck),’’ he told Channel 9.
“We were a good side, we were second on the ladder (last year) after eight or nine rounds and then fell away playing a young side.”
Matthews told Channel 7 he was amazed how quickly the Dogs had changed their list profile.
“I think they are the one-year wonder,’’ he said.
“Collingwood, I coached them in 1990 and we happened to get into the finals and we won it,’’ he said.
“The Bulldogs are a bit like that, they got up there and had a fantastic September and they won it.
“But I think their personnel has changed, with injuries and retirements only about half their team was playing yesterday who was in that premiership era.
“Sometimes the expectations can be a bit of a weight on their shoulders.”
Beveridge put the heat on both Wallis and Roughead last week to be at their best as they approach contract talks.
“ (Roughead) is a free agent at the end of this year, so we’re working with his management at the moment to try and re-sign him because he is definitely a required player,” Beveridge said.
“He’ll need to perform at his best pretty quickly to establish what his future is beyond this year, and I really believe he can.
“Mitch is working his way back from that leg break, and hasn’t exactly got back to his absolute best, but I’m sure he will. He’ll accumulate and be involved but we’re looking for a qualitative sheen on his game that we need and it is part of our scope to score.”
CONTRACT ISSUES
Mitch Wallis
A restricted free agent, he wants to stay with talks to start at the pre-season bye. But was dropped for Round 23 last year, started the year in the VFL and is playing there now.
Luke Dahlhaus
The unrestricted free agent has averaged just 22 possessions this year — and kicked only a single goal. Wants four or five years, they won’t give it to him.
Might get a trigger clause in a contract to help get the extra year.
Tom Liberatore
An unrestricted free agent, he started the pre-season on fire then did his ACL. He wants to stay but he and the club waiting while he starts his rehabilitation
Jordan Roughead
A restricted free agent, has played only five games because of a concussion then VFL stint. Mixing between the ruck and forward, he is far from setting the world on fire.
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Originally published as Nathan Brown says Mitch Wallis will leave the Western Bulldogs at the end of the season