Luke Beveridge softened his approach and relaxed in the week before his Western Bulldogs smashed North Melbourne by 68 points on Good Friday.
That’s the revelation from Bulldogs utility Zaine Cordy, who gathered ten disposals and kicked a goal in the win.
Beveridge’s side was 1-3 heading into Friday evening’s clash, and had been a far cry from the team who charged into the Grand Final last year.
The 51-year-old coach had come in for plenty of criticism for blowing up at former Fox Sports journalist Tom Morris after their Round 1 loss, and faced subsequent questioning around his mental state.
Despite the intense pressure, Cordy believes Beveridge relaxed and simplified the message to his players to get them back on track.
“It’s a stressful job head coach, they’ve got a lot of pressure on them and they can go a bit crazy at times,” he told SEN’s Crunch Time.
“He sort of relaxed this week, in a sense let us do what we needed to do. He gave us a few pointers here and there but he’s like, 'We just need to get back to why we are a good side, what makes us a good side, do the basics well, and then the fruits will blossom from there' and it did on the weekend.
“Except the second quarter, we went away from what was working and we let North Melbourne in a bit, but apart from that we had three very good quarters.”
Beveridge’s tyrant against Morris earlier in the year wasn’t his first blip against media personalities. He has often gone in to bat for his players and called out multiple media figures, while appearing to shape the narrative around his team as underdogs.
When asked about Beveridge’s often bristly media appearances, Cordy believes his coach acts out of love for his players, rather than an aggression towards the media.
“I think he just has a great care for his players,” Cordy stated.
“One of the things we do love about him, he just cares about us. Obviously, coaches get emotional, he had a dig at the media a few times which he apologised for, but I think the main thing is he just cares for us.
“He cares for our well-being, which is good, we appreciate the support because it’s a hard game.
“It’s hard for a coach to hear the media pot his players, but he’s learning from his mistakes, that’s the main thing.”
The Western Bulldogs now enter a run of five matches where they’ll likely start favourites, taking on Adelaide, Essendon, Port Adelaide, Collingwood and Gold Coast as they look to add to their two wins of 2021.