‘No runs on the board’: Undefeated Bulldogs not getting carried away, injuries could bite
by Scott Spits · WAtodayyesterday 9.53pm
‘No runs on the board’: Beveridge not getting carried away with 4-0 start
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The Western Bulldogs have comfortably beaten battling Essendon by 34 points but will rue multiple injuries and an inconsistent performance ahead of a blockbuster clash with Hawthorn.
Essendon appeared destined for a disastrous thrashing after kicking just one goal in a listless opening half, but responded after halftime to effect a more respectable end score of 14.15 (99) to 9.11 (65).
Sunday night’s loss still means the Bombers have equalled the club record of 17 consecutive defeats, set when Essendon used top-up players in 2016 amid their drugs saga.
And it won’t relieve the pressure on the team and their coach Brad Scott.
The Bulldogs’ fourth straight win came at a cost with Tim English (knee) and Artie Jones (hamstring) limping off in the third quarter, just six days out from facing the Hawks at Adelaide Oval.
Gun midfielder Ed Richards (left knee soreness) withdrew barely half an hour before the game, with Lachie McNeil the late replacement.
English and Jones will have scans to determine the severity of their injuries.
The top-of-the-ladder Bulldogs also have uncertainly over experienced midfielder Adam Treloar, who only played four games last year due to injury.
Western Bulldogs have started the season with a 4-0 for only the second time 2007. They last managed that early run in 2021 when they make the grand final.
But coach Luke Beveridge said the Bulldogs still have so much to prove.
“We’ve just got no runs on the board,” said Beveridge.
“Yeah, promising start.
“But we haven’t sustained anything like this any other year, so we just need to remind ourselves every week that if we want to emerge as that team, there’s a long way to go.
“You saw it tonight. Under pressure, we didn’t handle it too well at times. We fumbled it. We coughed it up.”
“We missed open-field targets too many times in a game where the conditions seemed perfect.
“We’ve just got to keep pushing the button on how aspirational we are, and just keep reminding ourselves that it’s got to be a week-to-week thing.”
Beveridge said Treloar, 33, who didn’t play in the VFL this weekend, hadn’t “had any fluency at all in his preparation”.
“I did say that he was close. He’s building. He isn’t quite [there]. When you think about the way he finished the year off last year at state lead level, that form and what he was doing would have stacked up at AFL level,” Beveridge said.
“Hasn’t quite been able to get to his credentials this year yet, and that was what I was alluding to. But when push came to shove, in preparation for this game, he just didn’t feel right, so we took some precaution and didn’t play him at all.
“So we’ll spend the next couple of weeks trying to get into the line. But yeah, he’s a real wait and see Adam because it’s he hasn’t had any fluency at all in his preparation.”
AAP and Scott Spits
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