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Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge has refused to buy into speculation former vice-captain Lachie Hunter will be left out of their AFL opener.
A Fox Sports report on Monday claimed Hunter, one of the Bulldogs’ most prolific midfielders, would not play against Melbourne in Wednesday night’s AFL grand final rematch at the MCG.
But Beveridge bristled at multiple questions surrounding Hunter’s availability for the game when addressing the media on Tuesday.
“I’m aware of the reports but the team will come out later,” Beveridge said.
“It’s speculation from a journalist so you can’t expect me to bite before the teams come out.
“I’m not going to talk about Lachie Hunter if this is some kind of interrogation or investigation into how he’s been going.
“It will all be unnecessary at the end of the day, anyway.”
After a difficult 2020, Hunter played in 25 of the Bulldogs’ 26 games last year, including the grand final loss against Melbourne.
The Bulldogs have one of the deepest midfields in the AFL and Beveridge did admit it is tough to fit everyone he wanted into the team.
Premiership player Josh Dunkley became frustrated by his lack of time playing in the midfield during 2020, and unsuccessfully requested a trade to Essendon at the end of that season.
The Bulldogs can draw on Marcus Bontempelli, Jack Macrae, Tom Liberatore, Adam Treloar, Bailey Smith, Dunkley and Hunter to run through the middle.
“There is pressure on for spots, there’s no doubt about it,” Beveridge said.
“There’s a number of boys who are putting their hand up who might be on the periphery.
“One approach isn’t sustainable for too long so hopefully we get the mix right.”
Beveridge did confirm key defender Alex Keath will take on the Demons, despite suffering a knock to his shin in the Bulldogs’ final pre-season match.
“It was really limiting him post that knock in the game so it was too much of a risk,” he said.
“We took him out of the game but he’s ready to go.”
The AFL’s decision to hand life membership to former Western Bulldogs president Peter Gordon ahead of Eddie McGuire has been slammed by the ex-Collingwood supremo’s biggest critics in Caroline Wilson.
Speaking on Footy Classified, the veteran journalist said McGuire deserved recognition for his 23 years as Magpies president despite the many controversies which dogged his tenure.
“It was an omission that shocked many of the AFL’s elder statesmen,” she said. “This is no offence to Peter Gordon and his mighty and historic service to the Western Bulldogs, delivered over two, albeit significantly shorter, stints than McGuire, in comparisons are odious.
“But how does Peter Gordon get this honour ahead of Eddie McGuire? Ironically, even McGuire’s successor at the Collingwood Football Club, Jeff Browne, has been a life member for years.
“I can only assume the AFL is wanting to put a bit more distance between McGuire’s honour and the Do Better report.
“If so, it’s a decision that smacks politics, and if you scour the list of some AFL life members, utter hypocrisy. I’ve been his biggest critic but can’t understand it.”
(Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin has wasted no time contemplating who might have leaked historic accusations of bullying and improper behaviour directed against him.
The 45-year-old was last month the subject of numerous stories about his behaviour prior to 2021, leading to his position as Demons coach briefly coming under question.
Goodwin was cleared of all allegations, and they only emerged several months after Goodwin became Melbourne’s first premiership coach since 1964.
He addressed the reports on Tuesday at a press conference for the first time, ahead of the Demons opening their season with a grand final rematch against the Western Bulldogs.
“I don’t put any energy into that at all,” Goodwin said when asked who might have leaked the information.
“Where my energy sits is with our playing group, with our staff, our team and our football club.
“What I do know is we’ve got an incredibly united footy club from (president) Kate Roffey to (chief executive) Gary Pert to the whole way through.
“We made some significant change, we built some success and we’ve got a great program in place and I don’t put any energy into that.
“The people around me know what I’m about, they know who I am and how I go about my business and the staff do as well.
“We’ve got a really strong environment, a caring environment and a really respectful one.”
A club review at the end of the 2020 season cleared Goodwin to continue coaching.
After the reports emerged, Goodwin received strong public backing from Roffey, Pert and captain Max Gawn. Pert even labelled the leaks “disgraceful”.
The off-field disruption during the pre-season barely appears to have hampered the Demons’ preparation for their premiership defence.
Melbourne will name 19 premiership players for their game against the Bulldogs, with the contest to take place in front of up to 80,000 people at the MCG on Wednesday night.
The Demons are early favourites to back up their drought-breaking flag success.
AFL football manager Brad Scott has stopped short of declaring West Coast and Fremantle will be forced to leave Western Australia if mounting COVID-19 cases affect their fixtures this season.
However, the option to temporarily move out of the state, which has had a surge in positive cases since its border rules were relaxed, could be available to the two clubs if they feel it will help them keep their primary playing lists healthy.
West Coast are facing the distinct possibility of having to call on top-up players in Round 1, with a long injury list and enforced isolation periods ravaging their playing stocks.
Star midfielder Tim Kelly, who has tested positive, and premiership forward Liam Ryan are unavailable for the meeting with Gold Coast on Sunday because of COVID-19 protocols.
“It’s concerning but we’re as well prepared as we possibly can be,” Scott told Fox Footy. “We’re strong on the fact that the fixture is going to go ahead as fixtured but we know we’re not through this pandemic as yet, so we needed contingencies in place.
“Hopefully West Coast don’t need to draw on that but it’s in place if they need to.”
Scott indicated the door is open for West Coast and Fremantle to move to temporary bases interstate at some stage.
Scott admitted the situation facing West Coast ahead of their season opener isn’t fair, but also pointed out the competition has been unfair “on a whole lot of measures” during the pandemic.
Each of the 18 AFL clubs were required to submit their lists of 20 top-up players to the league by Monday night.
Tom Green. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
Highly-regarded GWS midfield bull Tom Green wants to add scoring punch to his already impressive skill set, as he gets set to perform in front of the biggest crowd of his burgeoning AFL career on Saturday.
Green played 24 games in his first two seasons, impressing with his ball-winning ability and invariably good decision-making in tight situations.
The 192cm 21-year-old has worked on his running ability and endurance, posting a personal best over two kilometres in the pre-season.
He has kicked eight goals at senior level and, in anticipation of spending time up forward this season, has continued working on his forward craft heading into the opening-round derby with Sydney at Accor Stadium.
“At my height, my size, I can be damaging as a forward,” Green told AAP. “The best mids in the game these day are mids that are amazing around the contest, around the ball, and then go forward and hit the scoreboard as well, that’s the vein that I can go in.
“I took strides in doing that last year but I think I can take it to another level this year. It’s just being able to hit the scoreboard regularly go forward, take marks and be a presence.”
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