Despite picking up some of the best young players in the land with very early draft picks in recent years, such as Jack Macrae, Jake Stringer and Marcus Bontempelli, lean times were still predicted for the Western Bulldogs this season.
That was on the back of a tumultuous off season with senior players Ryan Griffen, Adam Cooney, Shaun Higgins and Liam Jones all leaving for other clubs.
Coach Brendan McCartney also moved on after his relationship with those senior players and others had soured.
The Dogs, however, immediately identified their man to replace him in Luke Beveridge, who like McCartney and Mark Neeld – sacked by Melbourne after just 18 months – had coached teams to consecutive premierships in local ranks.
He took St Bedes Mentone to flags in C, B and A Grade all in a row, which had never been done in the Victorian Amateur competition before.
Like McCartney and Neeld he had been an assistant coach at AFL teams that won a grand final. In fact he was backline coach at the Hawks in 2013 and 2014 as they went back to back.
He was actually heading off to St Kilda, one of the three teams he played with, to be their coaching director when the Bulldogs pounced.
He was a low-profile appointment. In fact you could compare it to Hawthorn securing Alastair Clarkson for the 2005 season, when a number of former Hawk premiership stars with coaching experience and fairly successful stints at that like Gary Ayres, Terry Wallace and Rodney Eade were all available.
Now, it’s way too early to think that in ten years’ time Beveridge would have done a Clarkson and won three premierships with the Bulldogs.
However, the Dogs have been a terrific surprise packet so far in 2015. Two wins from two games don’t make a season and we will get a better idea of their credentials in the next three games. They take on the Hawks, the rampaging Crows and Sydney, hardly an easy run but not many would have tipped the Dogs to beat either West Coast or Richmond in the opening rounds.
They just seemed too inexperienced, and to make matters worse their best midfielder and the competition’s clearance king Tom Liberatore wrecked his knee in the opening pre-season match in the first ten minutes. But Beveridge and his young charges didn’t panic and have adapted well so far.
Mitch Wallis and Liberatore are very similar players, but Wallis had to become a tagger to get a permanent spot under McCartney. He is still filling that role, but is more than an adequate replacement for Liberatore. Bontempelli is already a star in just his second season. He is probably his team’s most important player and does things at times on the field that make you think, how?
Who was the football broadcaster and journalist that believed the Dogs made a blue selecting him ahead of James Aish? I can’t remember, but I do know that egg is still stuck on his face! Macrae is a magnificent outside runner and compliments the inside grunt of Wallis, the veteran, Matthew Boyd, the improving Lin Jong, Mitch Honeychurch and Bontempelli.
You need to have the right mix of inside and outside midfielders. McCartney was very focused on contested ball and obviously it’s vital, but it’s all about balance. The backline seems settled. Michael Talia is taking his chance as a key defender and the appointment of Robert Murphy was the right one.
In hindsight, Griffen, although coming off a sublime 2013, was probably not captaincy material, but Murphy certainly is. Murphy, Boyd, Dale Morris and Will Minson ensures there’s still enough experience around to help such a young group.
The other Boyd, Tom, is still a long way off it and the big money the Bulldogs have paid for him is certainly a massive risk. However, it does take big key position players time to develop and both parties claim they have plenty of that.
Stewart Crameri will get better with more matches and Jared Grant seems to have a new lease of life under the new coach. It surely is the last chance saloon for him, though.
Beveridge has done a great job to instil a new more attacking game plan in just four months, and the getting the players to implement it so quickly. From the outside he appears to be extremely levelheaded and in the coaches box, so poker face that it would be impossible to play cards against him.
The fact that the Dogs held their nerve and found a way to win after the Eagles and the Tigers challenged them indicates they have new found self belief as well.
The next three weeks will be fascinating with the Hawks hurting after Essendon stormed over the top of them, while Adelaide are shining under their new mentor, Phillip Walsh, who has tightened up their defence. Sydney, well they are still Sydney.
There will be times when the very good sides will get hold of this young group, but it shouldn’t be too often and that appeared to be an unlikely scenario back in October.
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