Fremantle great Paul Hasleby is adamant his former club would not seriously be considering replacing head coach Justin Longmuir with Luke Beveridge.
A recent report in The West Australian suggests “there is a push within Fremantle to poach” Beveridge from the Western Bulldogs if the Dockers fail to improve under Longmuir in 2024.
Freo went backwards in 2023, falling to 14th and missing finals having broken a seven-year September drought the season prior.
Longmuir, who took over in late 2019, is contracted for this season but change could be afoot if the team does not return to the kind of form they showed in his third campaign in charge.
However, Hasleby simply can’t see the mooted move coming to fruition, particularly as he feels the Dockers are set to bounce back.
“We did see some commentary by The West Australian in relation to Luke Beveridge,” Hasleby said on SEN WA’s The Run Home.
“I’m not saying there’s not any truth to it, because when you report a story you’ve got to hear something, but I would be very surprised if the Fremantle Dockers hierarchy are even contemplating a change at this particular time.
“I think they’ve been pretty stable in recent times. Now is not the time to make a move. Now is the time to see how Justin goes for the year and I’ve been on record that I think they give him the whole year to see how he goes and take the pressure off.
“I still believe there’s some upside to come from the Dockers this year. They’re fitter than they were last year, Nathan Fyfe is going really well.”
Hasleby highlighted the recent review undertaken by the Dogs and the pressure that Beveridge could be placed under if they themselves don’t improve after missing finals in 2023.
“Then I go back to Luke Beveridge and say that if the Dogs lose this year, he’s under just as much pressure - if not more - than Justin Longmuir,” he added.
“They’ve just had a big look into their coaching department at the Western Bulldogs and they’ve made significant change on the back, I think, of not being entirely comfortable with what’s happened in recent times with Beveridge at the top.
“This is how I see it - If they win a final this year and maybe finish inside the top four, Luke Beveridge will continue on at the Bulldogs. But if they lose and miss finals for a second year in a row - and let’s not forget they lost to West Coast last year - there’s no chance that the Dockers would have any interest.
“I would deem they have had a more talented list over the last few years than what Fremantle has had at their disposal.”
The fact that Beveridge is contracted until 2025 is another sticking point in any potential shift.
“There’s too many moving parts. You can’t just swap out Beveridge for Longmuir halfway through the year,” the 208-game Docker continued.
“I don’t think it would have come from Fremantle, I think it may have been a rumour. For me right now, their thinking should be around Justin Longmuir.
“Because any instability right now would filter through to the team and that would be detrimental to their chances this year.
“There’s a lot of circumstances around it. I still believe the Dockers can prove a lot of people wrong this year.”
The key link between Beveridge and the Dockers is Simon Garlick.
The current Freo CEO was chief executive at the Dogs when they appointed Beveridge in late 2014, before quitting his post at the Whitten Oval in January of 2015.
Former Dogs captain Bob Murphy also holds a key role at the Dockers as skills specialist and head of leadership.