Upset with his list management team? Rewarding the wrong players? Questions raised on Bevo's selections
Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge’s selection policy has been called into question following his side’s 29-point loss to Essendon on Friday night of Round 5.
Beveridge dropped All-Australian Caleb Daniel for the clash, while Bailey Dale, another All-Australian, was relegated to substitute.
In their place were the likes of Lachlan Bramble (35 games) and Harvey Gallagher (five games), while James O’Donnell (13 games) and Oskar Baker (37 games) are also early in their careers.
Nathan Buckley, who admitted he found it difficult to comment from the outside, was confused at the Bulldogs’ 23.
“If you decide you want to move past players who are All-Australian types that have played significant roles for you in the past… To move past them you need to have better, or they (have to be) terribly out of form,” the former Collingwood coach told SEN Breakfast.
“I don’t know about the evidence of being terribly out of form and I don’t think they’ve found better. The selection of O’Donnell as the third tall made sense, he described that really well, and I like Gallagher in the side, he’s a young player that looks like he’s contributing now and will be better in the future.
“The question I’ve got, I wonder whether there is a bit of list management consideration in this. Are these two, and maybe even Jack Macrae, are they players they feel like they want to move on from in a five-year sense? Are they players they might trade at the end of the year?”
Buckley added: “It’s easy (to say) in retrospect. But it’s not a game they should have given up. They were coming up a wounded side that had their own injury concerns.”
It’s not the first time in 2024 Beveridge’s selections have been questioned. Leaving out three-time All-Australian Macrae earlier in the season raised plenty of eyebrows, while high profile recruit Rory Lobb has been relegated to the VFL.
Port Adelaide great and Breakfast co-host Kane Cornes pointed out the difference between Beveridge’s selection policy and his list management team, suggesting the two could even be far apart on key decisions.
“It feels like he is at loggerheads with his list management group. Bailey Dale was a free agent a year ago, he signed a five-year deal in 2022 and now Luke Beveridge is not even starting him in the best 22,” Cornes remarked.
“Caleb Daniel is on big money, he’s got a couple of years left on his contract, Jack Macrae the same. Is Luke Beveridge saying to his list management, ‘I disagree with what you’ve done here and I’m going to make a statement’?
“There’s not better there. We’re talking Oskar Baker, we’re talking James O’Donnell, we’re talking Bramble.”
Listen to the full discussion between Buckley and Cornes below
Meanwhile, Beveridge attempted to explain his selections when speaking in a post-match press conference.
“(Dale’s non-selection) is just a form thing. We've been a little bit on edge about Liam Jones and Buku Khamis shouldering that key defensive load, and without another tall to really play on keys, it's meant Ed Richards and Bailey to a degree, and sometimes Taylor Duryea, have had to really fight out of their weight range in the air," Beveridge said post-game.
“Because Dig's been just a bit off with his influence in games, we thought it was a good week to bring James (O'Donnell) in. James is going to be a really good player for us in the future. You don't pick the side two weeks ahead, but understanding what we've got coming up in the Saints and a bit of a taller forward line, we'll definitely need someone like James in the team.
“(Daniel) is just similar to Bailey Dale. As far as influence goes, and as I've said in the past and I think you guys and girls totally understand, there's a finite amount of minutes midfielders can play.
“(With Daniel), we've moved away from picking him as a half-back at the moment, so it comes down to who plays the other roles and we had others ahead of him this week.”
The Bulldogs fall to a 2-3 record with the defeat to Essendon and face St Kilda under the bright lights of Thursday night footy this week.