FROM THE TOP DECK

THE Luke Beveridge Bulldogs are the perfect team for the diabolical state of current online discourse. 

The truth doesn’t really matter; just pick a side and you have all the evidence you need to condescendingly defend your position to the theoretical death. 

Context? lol. Nuance? lmao. Open-mindedness? clown emoji. 

There’s no denying the frustration of 2025. In their centenary season the Dogs finished with the highest percentage in the club’s history, won 14 games, and missed finals. 

They were the fourth team ever (ever!) to have eight wins by at least 70 points – only the 1992 Cats, who averaged 139 points a game, have ever had more in a season (nine). 

They did all of this despite the arguable best player in the league missing five games, Sam Darcy missing six (essentially seven given how early he got hurt in the St Kilda game), Adam Treloar playing four games off his first All-Australian guernsey, and Jamarra Ugle-Hagan – fuck sake.

They were criticised for their record against the best teams, and that’s fair – it’s ultimately why they weren’t part of September – but conflating that to mean they couldn’t compete with the best teams – as many did – is dishonest. 

The Bulldogs were up to their ears in it against Collingwood at the ‘G without Bontempelli, were level 20 minutes into the last quarter in Geelong without Darcy, were within three points of the Suns 30 minutes into the last term in Darwin – again without Darcy – and there was less than a goal in it 30-plus minutes into the final quarter at the Gabba against the eventual premiers (granted, that game wasn’t as close as the score).

Zoom out and the season seems more than passable. But it’s hard to get the taste of that Fremantle game out of your mouth. In a high-stakes home game in front of a great crowd, all the flaws were on show. The mids and forwards couldn’t control space, territory or tempo, and it meant the backline – one of the league’s weakest – was exposed and ultimately doomed. 

Too often the Dogs’ whipping boys are blamed for their disappointing days, and sometimes that’s justifiable. But this team can’t win when their best players play poorly – and Darcy, Ed Richards, Aaron Naughton, Tim English and Rory Lobb all had stinkers that day. 

Is the Dogs’ talent a myth?

Well, kinda. The top-end talent is there, but it’s also in the positions easiest to identify and at times surplus. Jack Macrae is an infinitely better footballer than Laitham Vandermeer, but there’s a reason the latter’s spot was more secure two seasons ago. There’s always a point of diminishing returns. It’s all well and good to have eight good to great midfielders, but what are they doing when not in the midfield? Is Matt Kennedy a better footballer than Alex Neal-Bullen? Probably. Is he a better half-forward? No. 

The Jamarra saga was in some ways a blessing in disguise because it meant they didn’t have as many mouths to feed. While Rhylee West’s ceiling is much lower than Jamarra’s, he makes more sense as a third target. Treloar’s injury might have been similarly positive. Part of what makes the evolution of Joel Freijah and Ryley Sanders so fascinating is what the flow-on effects are on  Kennedy, Treloar, and even Tom Liberatore – gasp. 

Shut the fuck up about Bevo throwing players around

The Dogs have one of the tightest and most stable midfield rotations in the league. Aaron Naughton has been in essentially the same role for seven seasons despite constant calls for him to be moved. Beyond that, you can’t lament him trying players in different positions and also talk up the Dogs’ talent; Ed Richards and Bailey Dale are coming off All-Australian seasons in positions they didn’t start their career in. The Dogs’ best key defender isn’t playing in defence if Rory Lobb isn’t thrown back there. They weren’t “playing Tom Liberatore off half back” last season, they were rotating a fourth mid off the back of the square and running them straight in. Watch the fucking games. Pick a fucking side. 

Back to normal programming.

Where does the improvement come from?

Connor Budarick isn’t a world beater but he addresses a need – even if it isn’t THE need – as a mature, defensive-minded defender. He’ll play straight away and strengthen part of the ground in desperate need of it. 

Elsewhere, it’s a balancing act between hoping the young guys take the next step without the older guys going off the cliff. Freijah is the obvious ceiling raiser. Even if he doesn’t crack the first mid rotation, he’s already a moments player – those guys win you big games. 

The Darcy hype is out of control but it’s justified. The improvement for him might not be so much about raising his ceiling – he was exceptional last year and makes the All-Australian team if he plays two more games – as it is raising his floor. He needs to turn his bad games (i.e. the bath Alex Pearce gave him) into average ones. His size and aggression means he should still be negating opponents and bringing teammates into the play even if he’s not getting much of the footy.

Sanders has another preseason under his belt and should be better. I thought he was pretty good in a tricky role last season, but the fact he was out of favour by season’s end – again – is a slight concern. If he’s anything close to the player we were sold out of the draft, he’ll help. He looked great against the Hawks as the roaming outside connecter – a player the Dogs need – so the concussion stinks on multiple levels. It’s a long season, he’ll get his chance.

They’ll need to find a couple as well. For all the criticisms of the back six, they have tried to find answers. Jedd Busslinger, Luke Cleary and Harvey Gallagher have all been given a decent crack back there without grabbing hold of a spot. Michael Sellwood and Lachie Jaques look the next two to get their shot. I like Sellwood more for right now given his age and strength, but the sample size is tiny.

Up front Arty Jones looks like he’s up to it if his body co-operates. His ceiling is higher than Vandermeer’s if he’s favoured for that high forward role. That’s a bloody tough gig, and often an unrewarding one, but for all his effort, Vandermeer’s glaring flaw is that he doesn’t make the most of his chances. Jones is more skilled, so there’s scope for incremental improvement there. This side doesn’t have a heap of ground to make up, so incremental is significant. 

There’s something there with Cooper Hynes. He might not be ready to lock down a role and I’m not even sure what that role is just yet, but for a kid he’s strong and clean and clever. He looks at home in the front half but I can’t shake the feeling they should be trying to turn him into James Sicily – I love James Sicily. 

What needs to change?

Most of the focus is on the back six/seven because it’s easy to see the weakness there when things go wrong. The midfield too often gets off the hook. It’s troubling that they don’t seem able to change the pace of the game when it’s going against them. Scores run up too quickly when the game isn’t on their terms. They might have crunched the numbers and determined that shootouts are their best chance, but when you have Bontempelli, Richards, Liberatore and Kennedy, you should be able to close the game down for a few minutes to catch your breath. They need help from the outer layers there, too, whether that’s the wingers and flankers or the guys in that crucial space between inside and outside.  

Similarly, the defending on slow play has to be smarter. The stand rule has made it harder than ever to stop teams who can move the ball with precision but too often this team allowed space in the only places space could hurt them. The Swans taking it coast-to-coast after West’s long, slow set shot in the dying minutes took years off my life.

How good can they be?

This team can win the flag. They probably won’t, because that’s just the deal, but they’re more than a puncher’s chance. They’ll likely have to do it the hard way, because top-four almost certainly won’t happen (a discussion for another time) but enough teams have reached the decider without the double chance now to suggest it’s anything but insurmountable. Their best footy is good enough.

Pass mark

Always tough to do these. Was last year pass or fail? The league is deep and tough and this mob always has a steeper path than most. But if they keep maxing out in the upper middle, then what’s the point? Still alive in the semi-finals round should be the goal.