Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge slams report Luke Dahlhaus and Tom Liberatore were up for trade

WESTERN Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge has raged at a report Luke Dahlhaus and two teammates were up for trade last year, saying he had to reassure his players the news was fake.

WESTERN Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge has raged at a report Luke Dahlhaus was thrown up as trade bait, calling it a “lie” and a “fabrication”.

Beveridge also scoffed at claims Tom Liberatore and Clay Smith were ever discussed as trade options in the wake of the Dogs’ failed flag defence.

In a wide-ranging press conference before his side’s season-opener against GWS on Sunday, Beveridge said skipper Easton Wood would remain forward despite injuries to Marcus Adams and Dale Morris, revealed draftee Aaron Naughton would “definitely” make his debut and that Josh Schache and Tom Boyd wouldn’t be in the starting 22 until they “totally show” they’re ready.

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But it was the trade speculation surrounding Dahlhaus, Liberatore and Smith that enraged the Dogs coach.

“Think about your workplace. You read on the public domain that your organisation is shopping you around to other outlets and you don’t know about it,” Beveridge said.

“You like your workplace and enjoy where you work. How would you feel about that? How would your workmates feel about that?

“I’ve spent half a day reassuring our players that it didn’t happen. It’s really disappointing because here we are heading into Round 1 and there’s a lie online about us as a club, who loves our players to death, offering them up for trade when it didn’t happen. It’s been made up.”

Liberatore, whose pre-season Beveridge described as “really encouraging”, and Dahlhaus become restricted free agents at seasons end.

“Like ‘JJ’ (Jason Johannisen) last year, they’ll have strong market value and clubs who will be interested in them and we’re fully aware of that. That’s the landscape,” Beveridge said.

“We’ll work through that ... as always we’re in a performance industry and it will be linked to productivity.”

Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge has dismissed a report that Luke Dahlhaus was up for trade last year. Picture: Michael Klein

Wood’s shift forward has raised the eyebrows of many, but the Dogs will stay the course despite losing stoppers Morris (knee) and Adams (ankle) in less than a month.

Beveridge said his defence was based on system rather than personnel, adding he had seen promising signs in match simulation.

“His teammates have found it hard to play on him through the pre-season. Easton’s athletic profile in our code is probably second to none with power, speed and endurance put together with his courage and skill,” he said.

“He’s a formidable opponent whether he’s back or forward. It’s the early stages of a journey for all of us and both ends of the ground for us are quite fresh.”

Beveridge also spoke of his concern for Liam Picken, with the 2016 finals hero out indefinitely with concussion.

“’Picko’ had concussion last year and he wasn’t right for a long time. He was telling us he was right and he was training well, but his performances weren’t where they had been,” he said.

“The players think they’re extremely resilient and they want to fight the fight, but he’s telling us at the moment that he’s not right.

“We’ve got to make good decision for Liam for his long term future. Until he feels like his 100 per cent ... we’ll sit tight on when he’s selected.”