AFL 2025: Sam Davidson on the impact of Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge
Western Bulldogs rising star Sam Davidson has hailed coach Luke Beveridge 'a football genius'.
Davidson, a mature-age draftee out of Richmond VFL, has been one of Beveridge's strongest performers after an injury-plagued start to the year.
The 23-year-old has patrolled the wing with conviction, finding the footy at ease and kicking the equal-most goals in the competition from that position.
The out-of-contract Beveridge has coached brilliantly this season under the duress of early injuries and the overarching topic of Jamarra Ugle-Hagan's absence.
But he has the backing of Davidson, who says Beveridge is a 'tactical genius' and 'really special' to play under.
'It's hard to know what he's really like unless you're in the inner sanctum,' he said.
'You can watch little clips from the outside as a Doggies fan but you can't tell until you're in the four walls.
'He's just a bit of a football genius, he lives and breathes it, he loves footy – you can just tell how smart he is and his tactical genius, it's really special to play under him.
'He's just instilled so much belief in me, after each game he will just tell me to back myself and allows me to do what I do best. I've been really grateful for that.'
Davidson has coined the nickname 'Doc' for delaying his medical degree to pursue a football career.
But he had more than one nickname after Beveridge compared 'Doc' to Norm Smith Medal winning Eagle Peter Matera following the Bulldogs' round 3 win over Carlton.
Davidson had just collected 31 possessions in only his third game but said Beveridge got him at a time it was all still sinking in.
'He sort of stitched me up a little bit, I walked past him and was all blurry and he said 'you played like Peter Matera tonight',' Davidson recalls with a laugh.
'I was like 'yeah, thanks mate', I did know the Matera last name and thought he played for West Coast but I did have to look him up after the game.
'He was a fair player, so it's a pretty cool compliment from him … it's a pretty big compliment for a second or third-gamer but I really appreciated it.'
Western Bulldogs have played at seven different venues already this year but have nine games at Marvel Stadium in the run home.
Marvel Stadium has been a happy hunting ground for the Bulldogs, winning each of their past nine games under the roof.
Davidson said the strong first half to the season despite heavy travel had the Dogs daring to dream.
'We've obviously travelled to a lot of different places early in the year,' he said.
'We've been able to come out of it OK, we would have liked to have a few more wins under the belt, but we've been competitive in all of our losses.
'It instils so much belief and confidence in us that for the rest of the year we can really do something special.'
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