Bulldogs coach ‘seething’ over AFL Covid comedy

Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge is fuming after at a state health officer’s ruling against his team that he has described as “comical”.

Bulldogs head coach Luke Beveridge. Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images.

Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge is fuming over a South Australian health officer’s decision to ban the team from training in Adelaide before their preliminary final showdown with Port Adelaide.

After flying to Adelaide on Friday morning, Beveridge publicly criticised the South Australian government’s decision to deny his club access to the Adelaide Oval before Saturday night.

The Bulldogs have adhered to strict isolation protocols this season and Beveridge said Friday the team has had 14 Covid-19 tests in 25 days.

He said being denied the privilege of conducting a final training run the day before their Saturday night blockbuster was a step too far.

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“Usually, what we do is we land and go and have our last training session. The SA health officer hasn’t allowed us to do that today, which isn’t ideal,” Beveridge said on Friday in a press conference where Channel 7 Adelaide described him as seething.

“We have almost a three-hour flight and then we are not allowed to stretch our legs and get moving again. We won’t be able to do that until we maybe go for a walk at lunchtime the next day.

Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge. Photo by Albert Perez/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

“After we get tested again tonight, I think that will be our 14th Covid test in 25 days. I’m pretty sure we are negative. It’s a really strange one for us.

“We just deal with it comically. The pandemic is serious, we know that, but this one is unreasonable, so all you can do is laugh at it. You let that wry grin emerge on your face and have a little bit of a chuckle and move on.”

Beveridge said the extra obstacle was just one more challenge for his team, which defeated Port Adelaide in Melbourne in round 23 before hitting the road for the finals, to overcome.

“It does (steel you), that galvanisation of your people,” he said.

“The word that has been used extremely often is resilience. To get this far in this kind of year you have already established a significant amount of intestinal fortitude from our people, mostly our players.

“It’s just another opportunity to come together and establish that resilience. It’s another angle of motivation and adds to the spice and the lead-in to the game.”

— with NCA NewsWire