Beveridge finds new tricks to preserve old Dog
Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge hopes enacting his Plan C for Tom Liberatore will play a role in extending the club great's AFL career beyond this season.
Liberatore, 33, made his name as a hard-as-nails midfielder and has spent stints across half-forward as the Bulldogs' engine room evolves.
A third role is also in play for Liberatore - a 2016 premiership on-baller - who featured in defence during the Dogs' last-start defeat to Hawthorn.
Ahead of a clash with St Kilda on Thursday night, Beveridge indicated he will consider deploying Liberatore in the back half more often in a bid to preserve the 246-game stalwart.
"You've all collectively, like us, garnered a huge amount of respect for Tom with his tenacity and the way he plays the game," Beveridge said.
"When you think of the coalface and how hard it is - sometimes I refer to it as 'the octagon' - you can't expect a player like Tom, who plays the way he does, to do it for as long as he does all the time.
"So we're looking to lighten his load a little bit and looking for another layer for Tom.
"We're hoping that his (playing) future goes beyond this year."
Beveridge said Liberatore was receptive to the idea of playing in defence, and the coach felt it would add flexibility to the Bulldogs' line-up.
It comes with former defender Ed Richards, recruit Matt Kennedy and emerging star Joel Freijah reshaping the midfield unit under the guidance of Liberatore and skipper Marcus Bontempelli.
"You know there's going to be integrity in Tom's defensive game and it all sort of makes sense without diminishing his importance as an inside mid," Beveridge said.
"His priority one is still as a contest and stoppage player, but we might explore that more here and there.
"My reassurance to him was that it's just a layer and maybe a Plan C - because the Plan B' is really for him to play a little bit of forward time as well."
The Bulldogs (6-6) will start warm favourites against St Kilda (5-7), despite Ross Lyon's side enjoying a surprise last-start victory over Melbourne before their mid-season bye.
Key forward Sam Darcy has been cleared to return from a knee injury to add further firepower to the Dogs' attack.
Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge hopes enacting his Plan C for Tom Liberatore will play a role in extending the club great's AFL career beyond this season.
Liberatore, 33, made his name as a hard-as-nails midfielder and has spent stints across half-forward as the Bulldogs' engine room evolves.
A third role is also in play for Liberatore - a 2016 premiership on-baller - who featured in defence during the Dogs' last-start defeat to Hawthorn.
Ahead of a clash with St Kilda on Thursday night, Beveridge indicated he will consider deploying Liberatore in the back half more often in a bid to preserve the 246-game stalwart.
"You've all collectively, like us, garnered a huge amount of respect for Tom with his tenacity and the way he plays the game," Beveridge said.
"When you think of the coalface and how hard it is - sometimes I refer to it as 'the octagon' - you can't expect a player like Tom, who plays the way he does, to do it for as long as he does all the time.
"So we're looking to lighten his load a little bit and looking for another layer for Tom.
"We're hoping that his (playing) future goes beyond this year."
Beveridge said Liberatore was receptive to the idea of playing in defence, and the coach felt it would add flexibility to the Bulldogs' line-up.
It comes with former defender Ed Richards, recruit Matt Kennedy and emerging star Joel Freijah reshaping the midfield unit under the guidance of Liberatore and skipper Marcus Bontempelli.
"You know there's going to be integrity in Tom's defensive game and it all sort of makes sense without diminishing his importance as an inside mid," Beveridge said.
"His priority one is still as a contest and stoppage player, but we might explore that more here and there.
"My reassurance to him was that it's just a layer and maybe a Plan C - because the Plan B' is really for him to play a little bit of forward time as well."
The Bulldogs (6-6) will start warm favourites against St Kilda (5-7), despite Ross Lyon's side enjoying a surprise last-start victory over Melbourne before their mid-season bye.
Key forward Sam Darcy has been cleared to return from a knee injury to add further firepower to the Dogs' attack.
Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge hopes enacting his Plan C for Tom Liberatore will play a role in extending the club great's AFL career beyond this season.
Liberatore, 33, made his name as a hard-as-nails midfielder and has spent stints across half-forward as the Bulldogs' engine room evolves.
A third role is also in play for Liberatore - a 2016 premiership on-baller - who featured in defence during the Dogs' last-start defeat to Hawthorn.
Ahead of a clash with St Kilda on Thursday night, Beveridge indicated he will consider deploying Liberatore in the back half more often in a bid to preserve the 246-game stalwart.
"You've all collectively, like us, garnered a huge amount of respect for Tom with his tenacity and the way he plays the game," Beveridge said.
"When you think of the coalface and how hard it is - sometimes I refer to it as 'the octagon' - you can't expect a player like Tom, who plays the way he does, to do it for as long as he does all the time.
"So we're looking to lighten his load a little bit and looking for another layer for Tom.
"We're hoping that his (playing) future goes beyond this year."
Beveridge said Liberatore was receptive to the idea of playing in defence, and the coach felt it would add flexibility to the Bulldogs' line-up.
It comes with former defender Ed Richards, recruit Matt Kennedy and emerging star Joel Freijah reshaping the midfield unit under the guidance of Liberatore and skipper Marcus Bontempelli.
"You know there's going to be integrity in Tom's defensive game and it all sort of makes sense without diminishing his importance as an inside mid," Beveridge said.
"His priority one is still as a contest and stoppage player, but we might explore that more here and there.
"My reassurance to him was that it's just a layer and maybe a Plan C - because the Plan B' is really for him to play a little bit of forward time as well."
The Bulldogs (6-6) will start warm favourites against St Kilda (5-7), despite Ross Lyon's side enjoying a surprise last-start victory over Melbourne before their mid-season bye.
Key forward Sam Darcy has been cleared to return from a knee injury to add further firepower to the Dogs' attack.
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'A mile off September' - Bulldogs face Swans test next
Before they try to break their duck against teams above them on the AFL ladder, the Western Bulldogs are wary of the threat from below. Sunday's 79-point belting of Richmond, coupled with the huge win over St Kilda the week before, were two quick kills for the Bulldogs ahead of what looms as Friday night's more searching test against the resurgent Sydney at the SCG. While the 21.9 (135) to 8.8 (56) defeat of the Tigers at Marvel Stadium was the Bulldogs' largest score of the season and returned them to the top eight, they are yet to claim a major scalp. And coach Luke Beveridge is well aware the Swans, two games below them, are coming after Saturday's important away win over Port Adelaide. When asked a speculative question post-game about the finals, Beveridge retorted: "We are a mile off September ... you're not going to catch me out talking about September." "Will we be a team that is capable of beating anyone at the end of the year? Well I think so - we think that every week," Beveridge said. "Ultimately to get anywhere and achieve anything as the season rolls on, we're going to need to beat these teams above us. "In the past, Sydney have come at us really hard. As much as they're below us on the ladder, you can sense that they're coming. "They have a little bit of momentum, so we won't think they're below us on the ladder by any means." Tempering Sunday's win was another calf problem for All-Australian midfielder Adam Treloar, who was subbed out before half time. He has only managed four senior games this season because of injury. "For us to sub him out that early in the game, there's a degree of significant concern," Beveridge said. "I picked that up pretty quickly. No one's allowed to hobble, it doesn't matter who they are." As his contract talks ramp up, captain Marcus Bontempelli was best afield with 36 possessions - his highest tally this season - and three goals, while key forward Sam Darcy also starred with five majors. The Bulldogs tore Richmond apart with seven goals to none in the second term and while Beveridge was less than impressed with the Tigers' second-half rally, he described the win as "satisfying". He is optimistic James O'Donnell (groin) and Lachie McNeil (neck) will play against Sydney after being injured late on Sunday. Beveridge was particularly pleased with his side's scoring potency, noting attack has been their problem in a season in which their largest losing margin has only been 22 points. "We're not worried about courage and contest and the defensive side, it is offence that we continue to need to tidy up against the better sides," he said. Richmond coach Adem Yze lamented his team's poor second term. "You could sense that it had ripped the heart out of our team. The response was OK in the second half, but the second quarter flattened us pretty bad. "We have to dig in and understand why we lost spirit so easily in that second quarter. I'd be more worried if we turned our toes up and didn't try in the last half." The Tigers are second-bottom and are on a five-game losing streak. Yze said the only solution was to get back to work this week ahead of next Sunday's MCG match against Adelaide. "All we look to is Adelaide and that's all we can do," he said. Tigers defender Nick Vlastuin continued his impressive form, despite a couple of heavy knocks, while Tom Lynch kicked three goals. Before they try to break their duck against teams above them on the AFL ladder, the Western Bulldogs are wary of the threat from below. Sunday's 79-point belting of Richmond, coupled with the huge win over St Kilda the week before, were two quick kills for the Bulldogs ahead of what looms as Friday night's more searching test against the resurgent Sydney at the SCG. While the 21.9 (135) to 8.8 (56) defeat of the Tigers at Marvel Stadium was the Bulldogs' largest score of the season and returned them to the top eight, they are yet to claim a major scalp. And coach Luke Beveridge is well aware the Swans, two games below them, are coming after Saturday's important away win over Port Adelaide. When asked a speculative question post-game about the finals, Beveridge retorted: "We are a mile off September ... you're not going to catch me out talking about September." "Will we be a team that is capable of beating anyone at the end of the year? Well I think so - we think that every week," Beveridge said. "Ultimately to get anywhere and achieve anything as the season rolls on, we're going to need to beat these teams above us. "In the past, Sydney have come at us really hard. As much as they're below us on the ladder, you can sense that they're coming. "They have a little bit of momentum, so we won't think they're below us on the ladder by any means." Tempering Sunday's win was another calf problem for All-Australian midfielder Adam Treloar, who was subbed out before half time. He has only managed four senior games this season because of injury. "For us to sub him out that early in the game, there's a degree of significant concern," Beveridge said. "I picked that up pretty quickly. No one's allowed to hobble, it doesn't matter who they are." As his contract talks ramp up, captain Marcus Bontempelli was best afield with 36 possessions - his highest tally this season - and three goals, while key forward Sam Darcy also starred with five majors. The Bulldogs tore Richmond apart with seven goals to none in the second term and while Beveridge was less than impressed with the Tigers' second-half rally, he described the win as "satisfying". He is optimistic James O'Donnell (groin) and Lachie McNeil (neck) will play against Sydney after being injured late on Sunday. Beveridge was particularly pleased with his side's scoring potency, noting attack has been their problem in a season in which their largest losing margin has only been 22 points. "We're not worried about courage and contest and the defensive side, it is offence that we continue to need to tidy up against the better sides," he said. Richmond coach Adem Yze lamented his team's poor second term. "You could sense that it had ripped the heart out of our team. The response was OK in the second half, but the second quarter flattened us pretty bad. "We have to dig in and understand why we lost spirit so easily in that second quarter. I'd be more worried if we turned our toes up and didn't try in the last half." The Tigers are second-bottom and are on a five-game losing streak. Yze said the only solution was to get back to work this week ahead of next Sunday's MCG match against Adelaide. "All we look to is Adelaide and that's all we can do," he said. Tigers defender Nick Vlastuin continued his impressive form, despite a couple of heavy knocks, while Tom Lynch kicked three goals. Before they try to break their duck against teams above them on the AFL ladder, the Western Bulldogs are wary of the threat from below. Sunday's 79-point belting of Richmond, coupled with the huge win over St Kilda the week before, were two quick kills for the Bulldogs ahead of what looms as Friday night's more searching test against the resurgent Sydney at the SCG. While the 21.9 (135) to 8.8 (56) defeat of the Tigers at Marvel Stadium was the Bulldogs' largest score of the season and returned them to the top eight, they are yet to claim a major scalp. And coach Luke Beveridge is well aware the Swans, two games below them, are coming after Saturday's important away win over Port Adelaide. When asked a speculative question post-game about the finals, Beveridge retorted: "We are a mile off September ... you're not going to catch me out talking about September." "Will we be a team that is capable of beating anyone at the end of the year? Well I think so - we think that every week," Beveridge said. "Ultimately to get anywhere and achieve anything as the season rolls on, we're going to need to beat these teams above us. "In the past, Sydney have come at us really hard. As much as they're below us on the ladder, you can sense that they're coming. "They have a little bit of momentum, so we won't think they're below us on the ladder by any means." Tempering Sunday's win was another calf problem for All-Australian midfielder Adam Treloar, who was subbed out before half time. He has only managed four senior games this season because of injury. "For us to sub him out that early in the game, there's a degree of significant concern," Beveridge said. 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Richmond coach Adem Yze lamented his team's poor second term. "You could sense that it had ripped the heart out of our team. The response was OK in the second half, but the second quarter flattened us pretty bad. "We have to dig in and understand why we lost spirit so easily in that second quarter. I'd be more worried if we turned our toes up and didn't try in the last half." The Tigers are second-bottom and are on a five-game losing streak. Yze said the only solution was to get back to work this week ahead of next Sunday's MCG match against Adelaide. "All we look to is Adelaide and that's all we can do," he said. Tigers defender Nick Vlastuin continued his impressive form, despite a couple of heavy knocks, while Tom Lynch kicked three goals.
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