Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge reacts to Damien Hardwick quitting Richmond

With one AFL coach quitting and another walking away already this season, one premiership winner says changes are needed.

Luke Beveridge says there’s ‘volatility’ in being an AFL coach. Picture: Michael Klein

Premiership-winning Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge fears longevity may become rare in the wake of Damien Hardwick‘s departure from Richmond as “volatility” continues to grow for coaches.

Beveridge, in his ninth year as a senior coach, was loathed to complain about the stresses of being in charge after Hardwick cited burnout as a reason for ending his 13-year tenure at the Tigers.

But he was keen to point out how much the AFL environment had changed in the wake of changes to soft-cap spending and fewer ex-players wanting to join the coaching ranks.

Beveridge said the league had to be conscious of significant things it could “improve on” to ensure the best coaches remained in the game.

“I’ve got some private thoughts and historically have probably have aired a couple of them around where we can improve,” Beveridge said on Wednesday.

“My main concern here is in a management capacity, that our people want to stay and want to be involved in an AFL environment. Incentive to do that is diminished.

“There’s a volatility in what we do, which historically has meant that there’s probably a premium as far as the wages go of people who work in the industry now.

“That’s been shaved off, so you don’t get as many players coming out of the game wanting to coach. There’s not as many candidates to come in.

Damien Hardwick has walked away from coaching. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

“And even from club to club, we will do it differently around prioritising where we spend the soft cap and I think Richmond have done unbelievably well with what they’ve had.

“But no complaints and each senior coach and the stresses on us are all very unique and very different, but we all need to manage it in our own way.”

Beveridge said triple-premiership winner Hardwick had been a “critical figure” in the AFL for a long time and hoped he wasn’t lost to the game.

“He’s been an outstanding coach in our game and he’s had longevity, which is probably going to become rarer and rarer over the years and obviously was a surprise for everyone,” he said.

“Whether or not he comes back into the game remains to be seen, but he’s been a critical figure in it for a significant period of time.”

The Bulldogs have to make a significant adjustment of their own this week, going from the chill of playing in Ballarat last weekend to the heat of Darwin for Saturday’s clash with the Gold Coast Suns.

“And we haven’t got a training session up here other than captain’s run on the Friday,” Beveridge said.

“So they’re always gonna stay hydrated and the boys have been covering the ground pretty well. And it’s going to be tough for both sides.”

Originally published as Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge reacts to Damien Hardwick quitting Richmond