AFL Round 6 live coverage: Follow all the action from Western Bulldogs v Carlton

LUKE Beveridge says he has found the right mix of midfield and forward time for star Marcus Bontempelli after he played his best game of the year in the Bulldogs’ win against Carlton. RECAP ALL THE ACTION

LUKE Beveridge is refusing to let the youth and inexperience of his side enter his team’s psyche.

The Western Bulldogs coach fielded the youngest and least-experienced team of the competition for this round, with an average age of 22.9 years and 59.8 games against Carlton. Five Bulldogs had played fewer than 10 games, but Beveridge said he would not acknowledge the numbers. MATCH: BLUES’ WORST START IN 121 YEARS STEAL: HOW BLUES OVERLOOKED LAMBERT PAUL ROOS: LEAVE GRAND FINAL ALONE FOREVER “We go in every week believing we can win and we’re genuinely disappointed if we don’t,” he said. “We’re deflated if we have performances like we did the previous week, because we don’t expect that. We expect more. We don’t talk about the age profile and the experience as far as games played. We just focus on playing with each other and trying to beat whoever is in front of us. And we believe we can.” RECAP ALL TONIGHT’S ACTION IN THE LIVE BLOG BELOW Beveridge praised the roles played by Caleb Daniel, Marcus Bontempelli and Lin Jong in taking on the likes of Kade Simpson and Patrick Cripps in the Dogs’ 21-point win, and said they had foregone part of their own game for the greater good. “It was pretty even contribution. I was really happy with one or two of the boys with the sacrifices they made for the team – Caleb was quite good at trying to negate (Kade) Simpson who is a very good player, though he still got a bit of the ball,” Beveridge said. “Marcus and Jongy did a really good job on Patrick Cripps after quarter-time and they were important roles for the team.” Bontempelli, 22, played his best game of the year to finish with 30 disposals and seven tackles, with Beveridge confident he had struck the balance between the star’s time in the midfield and attack. “I think we’ve got it about right,” he said. “Up until tonight he was just under 40 per cent forward and he’s kicked a few. That’s important for us. “(And) we need to keep our energy up through the midfield area. “We can’t leave him in there too long. He played a really team-based, sacrificial game.” The only casualty for the Dogs was a long-serving one – Caleb Daniel’s helmet. The ballwinner has worn the head protection since his mum bought it for him when playing Under-8s, including in the Dogs’ 2016 premiership. The strap failed, leaving the 21-year-old without his trademark for the last quarter. “I didn’t realise that he didn’t have it on there until right at the end there,” Beveridge smiled. “We might have to have a burial … have a service during the week and get him a new one.” LIVE stream every match of every round of the 2018 Toyota AFL Premiership Season on FOX SPORTS. Get your free 2-week trial & start watching in minutes. SIGN UP NOW >