Western Bulldogs star Adam Treloar, president Kylie Watson-Wheeler back embattled coach Luke Beveridge

One of Western Bulldogs’ biggest stars has hit back at criticism of coach Luke Beveridge and pinpointed where blame for the club’s poor form should be targeted.

Western Bulldogs star Adam Treloar says the players — and not the coaches — must take ownership of their form slump as the club trained off-site on Tuesday for a mid-season refresher.

Premiership coach Luke Beveridge has again come under fire this week despite being contracted through to the end of 2025.

Treloar bristled at questions regarding whether Beveridge still had the support of his players.

“What do you think the answer is going to be? Absolutely, of course he does,” Treloar said on Tuesday.

“We love playing for him. He bleeds red, white and blue, he’s a Bulldog man.

“Personally, I love playing for him. I think he’s a great coach and a great human being and I love playing underneath him.

“I feel like the coaches are preparing us really well and really setting us up to go out there and win and have success and ultimately we’re the ones that … aren’t performing.

“So as a playing group we’re really disappointed that we’re not going out there and delivering on what we want to deliver.”

Pressure is mounting on Luke Beveridge and the Bulldogs. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

The Dogs sit 11th on the ladder, have won just one out of their past five matches and do not hold a first-round pick in this year’s draft.

They headed to St Kilda sea baths on Tuesday before having a light run at Peanut Farm Reserve to mix things up away from their Whitten Oval base.

“It was nice to get out and have a bit of a change,” Treloar, 31, said.

“It was nice to get off site. We tend to do that a little bit throughout the year and it’s been a good week for it.

“Just a refresher regardless of winning or losing whatever it is, we have these planned throughout the year and it was nice to get out and just be involved with the general public.

“We knew there was obviously going to be quite a bit of pressure, but as a playing group we wholeheartedly take responsibility for the results that we’re putting out there.

“To be quite frank the last two games clearly haven’t been up to scratch for us.

“I feel like you know we’ve been in the games itself, but we’re the ones ultimately out there not performing and not nailing our opportunities.

“(We were) fully expecting the pressure to come for Bevo, but the reality is we’re the ones who are out there performing.”

Treloar has been a shining light this season and has produced some of the best form of his three-club career.

Adam Treloar has been a shining light during a poor run from the Bulldogs. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

DOGS PRESIDENT BACKS BEVO AFTER HAWKS DISASTER

— Jon Ralph

Western Bulldogs president Kylie Watson-Wheeler has backed the security of coach Luke Beveridge’s job but made clear the clash against Hawthorn was “a game we all definitely expected to win”.

After the Dogs lost another close game to a club out of finals contention Beveridge made clear he believed he had the trust and connection with his playing group.

In the last 13 games the Dogs have lost all five clashes decided by a single-figure margin, with a top four finish likely a pipedream given his side would need to win 12 of their final 15 home-and-away games.

Dogs chief executive Ameet Bains said recently the club’s hope was to contend for the premiership this year and Watson-Wheeler agreed finals had been the stated goal this season.

But as she echoed Beveridge’s mantra about a list evolution she made clear the club planned to honour his contract despite the 3-5 start to the season.

Luke Beveridge chats with assistant Matthew Egan during the Dogs loss to the Hawks. Picture: Michael Klein

“Yeah, he’s contracted until the end of next year, we are really focused on working together with the coaching group and we have had a lot of coaching changes as well so we are settling that in,” she said.

“We are focused on supporting the group we have and really ensuring we are giving them everything they need to bring that positive result on the field.

“I think you need to watch what is happening on the field consistently and what is happening within the walls of the club. Everything I see, I see and feel that connection and we are in a bit of a phase of evolution within the team and determining how we can manage to deliver that high performance that we have the ability to do on a consistent basis.”

Watson-Wheeler’s semi-regular ABC spot came on the morning after the club’s dispiring loss to the Hawks but she made clear nothing would change in the club’s backing of Beveridge.

Beveridge said earlier this year the club’s all-encompassing review over summer had not been about his coaching but about “freeing me up to progress things in the coaching and management space”.

Board member Luke Darcy made clear last August he was a Beveridge man.

“100 per cent he is (the man). And all the evidence would suggest that,” he said.

“Sometimes the commentary outside can border on disrespectful at times when you talk of someone with the history and record that he has, he has changed the whole paradigm of coaching in many ways. His record has been extraordinary. He has been an extraordinary leader of that football club. He has been an incredibly positive, successful person. Our football club in 10 years has never had a more successful period. This deathriding of coaches, I am uneasy with that.”

Kylie Watson-Wheeler (R) says she expected victory against Hawthorn. Picture: Michael Klein

Wheeler-Watson said the club had not expected to lose to Hawthorn.

“Certainly it was a game we all definitely expected to win so we are all disappointed and frustrated within the club, all levels of the club,” she said

“As of course are our fans and we really understand that. What has been interesting this season for us is we have had three convincing wins and two convincing losses and then we have had three losses where we were right up at the line and just couldn’t find what we needed to jump over that and last night was one of those games. As a club we continue to connect to determine what we need to do to make sure we can win those games.”

“I think the reality is when you think about the evolution of your football team and the game and where you are at you need to improve upon the previous year. Given we just missed out on finals last year making finals is an improvement. But at our best we are very very good. We just need to maintain that and bring our best more than we are at the moment.”

Originally published as Western Bulldogs star Adam Treloar, president Kylie Watson-Wheeler back embattled coach Luke Beveridge