Luke Beveridge’s inspiring speech at Western Bulldogs best and fairest
Luke Beveridge has called on rock band Pearl Jam during his best and fairest speech to help inspire his Bulldogs to bounce back from their grand final beating.
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Western Bulldogs’ coach Luke Beveridge has urged his troops not to dwell on the second half failures which cost it premiership glory.
Beveridge likened Melbourne’s midfield annihilation from midway through the third term of Saturday night’s Grand Final to a “bomb going off” as Marcus Bontempelli won the club’s best and fairest for a fourth time on Wednesday night.
Bontempelli became only the sixth player in the club’s history to take home a fourth Charles Sutton Medal ahead of runner-up Jackson Macrae and Tom Liberatore, in third.
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The Dogs led Melbourne by 19 points at one stage but were blown away out of the middle as Christian Petracca ran riot and Bayley Fritsch kicked six goals in the premiership decider.
Despite the disappointment, Beveridge urged the Dogs to look forward to the opportunities which were afoot next season and opened up on how a Pearl Jam song inspired their premiership charge this year.
“It is important we don’t drop the ball here, we have got to continue to flourish (next year),” Beveridge said.
“To reflect on ‘Man of the Hour’ from Pearl Jam, ‘Tidal waves don’t beg forgiveness, crash then on their way’.
“That was all about being a destructive force in this competition and at times looking through the rounds we see great evidence (of that) to be able to beat better teams on the road.
“To be able to make it through to the Grand Final under the circumstances we did albeit just to fall a little bit short.
“We have just got to bang out a few dents and a few dings and recollect ourselves and make sure we sustain our momentum and our run at it (next year).
“But for now we rest and we come back as determined as ever.”
Beveridge said the players must move on from the Grand Final pain at the end of a tough year dealing with COVID-19 restrictions and a punishing travel schedule.
“It was pretty destructive (Melbourne’s second-half) so if we hone in on it too much it’s obviously going to have an effect we are not after,” Beveridge said.
“So we need to move on and blank over the rear vision mirror and focus on our future which is really exciting.”
Bontempelli’s club champion award continues an extraordinary run for the man who has finished in the top-three in seven of the past eight seasons (only missed in 2014) since he was taken pick No. 4 in 2013.
Despairing Dogs? Look at Hodgey’s Hawks
There are three certainties in life: death, taxes and a dynasty being declared for the AFL premiership winner.
While Melbourne ticks a lot of boxes in this regard, the reality is only two teams from the past decade have lived up to the tag.
Hawthorn and Richmond gobbled up three flags each in that time, and if you go back further only Geelong and Brisbane have also claimed the dynasty tag this century.
So what does history say about the runner-up?
That’s not necessarily good reading for the Western Bulldogs given only one team in the past 10 years has bounced back from a grand final loss to get back to the last Saturday in September.
Hawthorn was upstaged by Sydney in 2012 but then rebounded to start their three-flag run in 2013 by defeating Fremantle.
The good news for Dogs fans is that Luke Beveridge experienced all of this when he was assistant to Alastair Clarkson for three years from 2012 to 2014.
There are a lot of similarities with the Hawks for the 2021 Bulldogs if you take a glass half-full approach.
The Hawks won a flag before they were really ready in 2008, then lost their way for various reasons before re-emerging in 2012 to play in the grand final.
Beveridge’s pups did the same thing in 2016, they got on a roll and produced a magical month of football which saw them claim a historic drought-breaking premiership.
The wheels fell off in the subsequent two seasons – 10th and 13th – before the Dogs started to rise again with back-to-back finals appearances.
It’s the precedent Beveridge can sell to his players, who were a lot closer than the scoreboard ultimately said on Saturday night.
They’d been forced to take the hardest road possibly to the decider, five states and numerous Covid bubbles, and it finally caught up to them in the last 45 minutes of the season.
From an age and games played perspective, the Bulldogs are in a sweet spot.
Captain Marcus Bontempelli, the Brownlow Medal runner-up, turns 26 in November, while many of the other Dogs prime movers are between the ages of 25 and 28.
These include Adam Treloar, Jack Macrae, Lachie Hunter, Bailey Dale, Josh Dunkley, Caleb Daniel and Bailey Williams.
There aren’t too many over 30s, with former captain Easton Wood, 32, still having a few miles in the tank, as do fellow defenders Taylor Duryea, Alex Keath and forward Josh Bruce.
And then there is the exciting bunch of young kids who had a taste this season.
Bailey Smith announced himself as a superstar of the competition in the finals and only turns 21 in December. Full-forward Aaron Naughton shortly turns 22 and excitement machine Cody Weightman is 20.
There was enough in No.1 draft pick Jamarra Ugle-Hagan’s five games to get seriously excited, while the father-son rule is set to deliver another exciting tall in Sam Darcy, the son of former ruckman Luke.
It is the ruck position which will again consume Beveridge over the summer. Tim English, 24, took major strides this season but he desperately needs a hardened back-up.
Stefan Martin, who turns 35 in November, was brought in for that role from Brisbane but injury cruelled that and his lack of match play was exposed by Melbourne’s one-two punch in the grand final.
Immediately after Saturday night’s loss, Bontempelli, who was in his second year as skipper, addressed the challenge confronting his team over the next 12 months.
“There is upside, a lot of our young players played extremely well through the back half (of the season) and most of the finals, really, with what they were able to contribute to get us to this point,” he said.
“We acknowledge how difficult it is to make a grand final and that’s a milestone in itself. But the endeavour has to be there now, to bounce back, (to) lick our wounds.
“No doubt this will sting for a little bit, but we’ll try to make something of it. I’ve got to try my best to set the tone and set the direction.”
The Bulldogs couldn’t be in better hands to do that, just like Hawthorn was back in 2012 when a second-year captain in Luke Hodge led them to the grand final.
And we know what happened the next year.
Bont in clear as Dogs prepare for Perth exit
The MRO has cleared Marcus Bontempelli of any grand final wrongdoing as some defeated Western Bulldogs players prepare to leave Perth as soon as Sunday.
A team flight from Perth to Melbourne is booked for all players and staff on Tuesday, but options were also available for individuals to leave earlier on Sunday or Monday, following their grand final demolition at the hands of the Demons.
Some players will remain in Perth beyond Tuesday to spend time with family and friends or holiday in Western Australia as Victoria remains in lockdown.
Bontempelli was looked at for a bump on Melbourne star Clayton Oliver, which happened at the 11-minute mark of the second quarter.
Oliver immediately clutched his head and stayed down momentarily as trainers rushed to him.
But Oliver was able to play out the game and the MRO has cleared Bontempelli of any foul play.
The Bulldogs played each of their four finals in four different states – Tasmania, Queensland, Adelaide and Western Australia – with the season decider marking a 28-day stint on the road for the group.
The Bulldogs have been based in Fremantle during their time in Western Australia, with the mood in the camp on Sunday said to be sombre.
Dogs coach Luke Beveridge doesn’t believe there will be any lasting effects from his side’s 74-point loss.
“I don’t think there will be a lasting legacy from this,” Beveridge said.
“The club has started to inspire people again; individuals are being lauded.
“This result will subtract from that, and that’s disappointing.
“We’re a step behind Melbourne at the moment, but I think both teams can sustain performance for a while.
“We can be team up there again in the future; we just have to do a lot right in the off season.”
The majority of Melbourne’s group will head back to Victoria on Thursday with the premiership cup in tow.
While those without families and pressing commitments in Victoria can stay in Perth and enjoy the freedoms afforded out west a large contingent are expected to head back Melbourne on Thursday.
“We’ve got to do some bits and pieces here, do our exit interviews and that,” star midfielder Jack Viney said.
“And when that is wrapped up we will head home.
“Some guys don’t have families to go home to so they may stay out here and enjoy the freedoms (on offer).”
Viney will head back on Thursday and will be joined by Demons captain Max Gawn, whose wife is to give birth to their first child shortly.
“My wife is two weeks away from having a kid so she held on,” he said.
“So as much as I would love to stay out here for another month and enjoy the freedom I guess I should head back.”
How resilient Dogs plan to ease the suffering
Western Bulldogs skipper Marcus Bontempelli says it will take the efforts of many to ensure that the squad moves on from Saturday night’s disappointing Grand Final loss and quickly gets back to a position to challenge again.
The 25-year-old knows he will shoulder some of the responsibility, having taken on the captaincy before the 2020 season. He knows he will need to lead the team through the off-season and into 2022, but said others will need to chip in.
And rightly so. There wouldn’t be too many captains that have faced as much as what Bontempelli has had thrown at him since he was handed the role from Easton Wood.
All clubs had to work through a shortened season due to Covid-19 in Bontempelli’s first season, including stints away from him, living in hubs interstate.
In his second, what initially looked like a return to normality at the start of the season, ended up with a travel schedule over the last few weeks that included flights from Melbourne to Launceston to Brisbane to Perth to Adelaide and then back to Perth.
The Dogs haven’t played in Melbourne since August 15 and not in Victoria since August 21 when they travelled to Geelong.
The last time they played in front of a crowd at the MCG was against Greater Western Sydney in Round 16.
And now there is a 74-point grand final loss to help his side get over.
“The endeavour has to be there now to bounce back, lick our wounds,” he said.
“This will sting for a little bit. That’s the key thing – walk away thinking we can get back here and change the storyline.
“We’re a resilient group.
“We have to spread the load. It’s not purely up to me, to set the tone, set the direction.
“I feel we’re in a good direction with the squad we’ve got to continue to challenge and be back here.”
Bontempelli acknowledged the strength in Melbourne’s performance and conceded that the Demons had “probably been the best team all season”.
He said that defending them is always tough because they are so versatile and can test teams in multiple ways.
After leading by 19 points in third term, the Dogs were blown off Optus Stadium. The Demons kicked 16 of the last 17 goals of the game to win 21.14 (140) to 10.6 (66).
The champion Dog said the way the game panned out was a tough one to swallow.
“When you consider how much in the game we were and how we put ourselves in a pretty strong position and thought we had a pretty good handle on the game,” he said.
“Ultimately, having the game play out the way, it does hurt you the most. It’s not a true reflection of us and our football and what we like to represent.
“There is an upside.
“A lot of our young players played well through most of the finals really, to get us to this point.
“It’s difficult to make a grand final and that’s a milestone in itself. The endeavour has to be there now to bounce back, lick our wounds.
“This will sting for a little bit, and try to bounce back.
“That’s the key think – walk away thinking we can get back here and change the storyline.”
Western Underdogs primed to reload
Marcus Bontempelli was all arms and legs when the lanky 17-year-old was drafted at No.4 in 2013.
Boy, what upper body strength Bontempelli has since built.
When the golden boy of the west thumped through his third goal of Saturday night’s grand final he was supporting 96 years of club history on his back.
In fact, as Bontempelli raised his arms in celebration after receiving a handball from Bailey Williams there was no Bulldog out of reach.
Bont’s Bulldogs led by 19 points before they suddenly smashed the brakes to fall short of their third VFL-AFL premiership.
The 2016 premiership superstar was firming for a Norm Smith Medal, potentially as captain of a flag.
That would’ve certified an on-field CV that not even larger-than-life legend EJ Whitten could compete with.
Bontempelli, the unluckiest Brownlow Medal bridesmaid in history, remains one of just 42 premiership players in Bulldog history.
But at 25 and without a 200-gamer in the side, it is hard not to see the bright side.
The runner-up has not one but potentially two No.1 draft picks in the queue.
Jamarra Ugle-Hagan and Sam Darcy, the 204cm father-son on top of this year’s class, won’t take long to slip in.
Throw in leading goalkicker Josh Bruce (48) and premiership hard man Toby McLean and there’s a powerful boost to come.
Does beaten preliminary finalists Geelong or Port Adelaide, or even premier Melbourne, have such junior gems in their wings?
At halftime it appeared the premiership quarter would need to be redefined.
Coach Luke Beveridge plonked Adam Treloar on the ball to start the second term and Treloar charged forward to boot two quick goals and set up a third.
Then, Bontempelli’s long arms latched on to two contested marks as the sudden swing picked up steam.
Set-shot goalkicking has long been the only chink in Bontempelli’s platinum armour.
But on the biggest stage he struck both sweetly.
The Bulldogs bounced through 6.3 (39) from 11 entries against the best backline triple-premiership coach Damien Hardwick has ever seen.
When Jason Johannisen got higher than national anthem singer Amy Manford’s voice, it looked like party time premiership style.
JJ jumped over Ben Brown to pull down a goalsquare screamer that made Melbourne hearts beat fast.
Aaron Naughton’s JBL Party Box 300 looked like it would be in for a long night.
Naughton’s boom box turned locker rooms into dancefloors in Launceston, Brisbane and Adelaide as house music became the Dogs’ September soundtrack.
Caleb Daniel, probably in front of Treloar and behind only Bontempelli in Norm Smith votes at halftime, looked in charge of invites to the flag bash.
The distributor had 26 mostly-clever touches and 536m gained by halftime.
It’s a wonder Daniel doesn’t have hair like Bailey Smith or Aaron Naughton hidden under his helmet.
He is the halfback mop who doesn’t miss a drop.
But a scrubber kick that cost a goal will probably spend the summer lurking in Daniel’s dreams.
Similarly, Williams – who affected perhaps the spoil of the season against Liam Ryan to set up the Dogs’ Round 2 win against West Coast – won’t love the replay.
He gave up a couple of goals as the Demons went whack at the outset.
The Dogs entered as the AFL’s fastest starters, but lost only their fifth opening quarter with 1.2 (8), which was their skinniest return.
Roarke Smith’s crash and crumb against Steven May, who looked more like Steven March at times because he was underdone, captured the sole goal.
The AFL and state governments conspired to place Beveridge’s boys on the toughest premiership path ever seen.
At times it barely contained terrain. Four weeks on the road and three in quarantine, which included days spent locked inside hotel rooms and deprived of essentials.
But in 2016 and 2021 the Dogs have produced a 7-1 finals record despite starting favourite only once.
Perhaps in September they should be rebranded the Western Underdogs, proving a top-four finish is hardly a premiership prerequisite.
Success was a surprise scribbled on their faces in 2016.
It felt like they were piloting an aircraft and somehow landed on the moon.
But in 2021 the Bulldogs looking down on the ladder from the top two for 19 rounds.
They knew they were riding in a rocket ship as they navigated their taxing schedule.
It ran out of fuel in the third quarter. But it shouldn’t take them long to refuel.
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