AFL Grand Final: Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge reveals how he told two players they would be dropped for the Grand Final

The Western Bulldogs were always going to recall two players for the Grand Final, which meant telling another two they wouldn’t play in the biggest game of the year.

Cody Weightman (left) and Aaron Naughton embrace during Western Bulldogs training in Perth. Picture: Michael Willson / AFL Photos via Getty Images

Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge has revealed the “emotional” moments he told Ryan Gardner and Latham Vandermeer they would be making way for two returning stars in Saturday’s AFL Grand Final.

The duo played in the Bulldogs’ huge preliminary final win over Port Adelaide to reach the decider but were dropped, as electric forward Cody Weightman and star defender Alex Keath became available.

Weightman missed the win over Port after suffering a concussion in the Bulldogs’ opening finals win over Essendon, in which he kicked four goals. Keath hurt his hamstring in the second final against the Brisbane Lions.

On Grand Final eve in Perth, Beveridge said it was “obvious” the two players had to come back in for the showdown with Melbourne, forcing him to have two hard conversations.

He elected to leave Zaine Cordy – who missed the opening two finals after falling ill before the Bombers clash but returned against Port as a replacement for Keath – over Gardner, who had played all three finals.

Beveridge said telling the omitted players wasn’t easy.

“It was a little bit emotional, as you could imagine,” Beveridge said.

“You’ve seen Alex Keath have a sensational year for us and Cody has come along in leaps and legitimate bounds. It was quite obvious they needed to come back in to the side.

“(Telling them) was a mixture of them coming to my room and me going to them and just talking to them about the circumstances. Ultimately the hope is the boys who have missed out have got this vision of themselves getting an opportunity maybe next year and in the future.

“They have been such an important part of our journey this year – 41 of 43 players (in the squad) have played and each one of them has helped us win important games.

Both Gardner and Vandermeer, who overcame his own sore hamstring to be ready for the Grand Final, have been listed as emergencies. Vandermeer is likely to be named the Bulldogs’ medical sub.

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Alex Keath has been recalled for the AFL Grand Final after overcoming a hamstring injury. Picture: Michael Willson / AFL Photos via Getty Images

Beveridge said captain Marcus Bontempelli and the other leaders had made all the players not featuring in the Grand Final feel “a significant part of it”.

“Marcus and all his teammates have made them feel like they have been absolutely instrumental and critical to getting us here and creating this opportunity.”

Beveridge said the body of work of Cordy, who was part of the 2016 Bulldogs premiership team and played 17 games during the home and away season, weighed heavily in his favour for selection over Gardner.

“Last week against Port Adelaide we needed to make a decision around who would play on Charlie Dixon … we went with Zaine and he did a tremendous job,” he said.

“Gardy was solid enough, so when you consider the Demons’ big forward threats and their height, we made the decision more based off last week and what Zaine has been able to put together for a large part of the year.”

Beveridge said Weightman would have been able to play last week if there was no Grand Final bye, but was thankful for the extra few days for Keath to get to full strength, given his key role.

“The extra week hasn’t done him any harm at all, just ticking off one or two parameters he may not have been able to do the week before,” he said.

“It wasn’t a significant injury when it happened … he still may have been able to play last week, but definitely it has given us the extra buffer.”

Originally published as AFL Grand Final: Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge reveals how he told two players they would be dropped for the Grand Final