Latest news with #LukeBeveridge
News.com.au
17 hours ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Sad truth as legend misses Western Bulldogs celebration
Bulldogs legend Chris Grant was the big name missing from the Western Bulldogs' centenary gala on Monday night. On a special night for the football club, it was sad for many fans to see Grant did not attend the event as rumours of a rift between the former centre half-forward and club officials continue to swirl. As first reported by Channel 9's Tom Morris, Grant was not at the Whitten Oval gala where the club celebrated its 25 greatest players of the past 100 years. FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every match of every round in the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer. It is a concerning update following months of rumours the 52-year-old fell out with sections of the club before his departure as football department boss last year. According to Code Sports in March, Grant and Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge were not on speaking terms towards the end of the 2024 season. Bulldogs chief executive Ameet Bains in February, 2024, said there had been 'tensions in many quarters' but denied there was a rift between Grant and Beveridge, saying those reports had been 'grossly exaggerated'. However, it is clear the dynamic deteriorated, leading to Grant's decision to step down in November — ending his 31 years with the club. Since debuting with the club in 1990 as a 17-year-old, Grant developed into one of the club's greatest players, twice winning the Charles Sutton Medal. He was named captain in 2001. His retirement in 2007 was the end of an era. Grant was loved on and off the field as a loyal club servant, reportedly turning down a monster contract offer from Port Adelaide to stay with the Bulldogs during his playing career. He was appointed to the club's board of directors in 2011 and moved into a role as football department boss in 2016 to oversee the men's and women's teams. Both sides won premierships, in 2016 and 2018 respectively. Grant's decision to step down came after the Bulldogs created a new position in 2023 which created distance between him and senior coach Beveridge. Former Geelong defender Matthew Egan was appointed as general manager of football operations following a review of the club's football department. It meant Beveridge no longer reported to Grant directly. According to The Age, Grant's role shifted to focus more on the club's AFLW program. It is clear Grant's messy split from the club cut deep, judging by his no-shows at recent club events. 'One person who isn't here is Chris Grant, who had an acrimonious split with the club last year when he was the club football boss,' Morris said on 9News. 'He missed the Round 2 gala at the MCG. And he's also missing tonight, saying he's unavailable.' 25 of the greatest all together. â�¤ï¸� — Western Bulldogs (@westernbulldogs) July 21, 2025 Grant missed the club's 100 year celebration — against Collingwood in March — with the club saying he was overseas at the time. He played 300 games for the club and it would have been fitting for Grant to attend both of this year's big events. His farewell statement in 2024 showed how sad his separation from the club has been. 'I've spent over half of my life with the club as a player and administrator and will cherish the many memories we have created together at the Western Bulldogs,' Grant said. 'While the decision to pause and map out the next stage of my professional career has not been an easy one, I leave knowing the club is in a great position to succeed and write the next chapter in the amazing history of the red, white and blue.' Six living Brownlow medallists, including recently distant 2008 medallist Adam Cooney, attended the March celebration where greats of the club were recognised before the game on the MCG playing surface. Club champions, including Brad Johnson, Doug Hawkins, Rohan Smith, Scott West and Bob Murphy were present. It has been a turbulent time at The Kennel in recent years with the departure of several football department figures, but the club has banked on stability in handing Beveridge a two-year contract extension through to the end of the 2027 season. The Bulldogs have not won a final since 2021.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
AFL superstar Bontempelli makes call on Bulldogs future
The Western Bulldogs have finalised a four-year deal that keeps superstar Marcus Bontempelli at the Whitten Oval until the end of the 2029 season. The highest-profile player in the AFL coming out-of-contract, the Dogs captain is going nowhere after signing a new four-year deal. "I've had a few different things happening - getting married in the off-season, opening a small coffee shop out in Kew - but ultimately it is no different to how I've dealt with other things in the past," Bontempelli said. "It's an important decision to spend the right amount of time. "This club means so much to me, it's hard to put it into a few words to be honest. "It is where I have grown as a man and spent all of my adult years coming here at 18. "When I think about the person I want to become it has been influenced by the people I have spent a lot of time with at the Western Bulldogs. "I owe so much from a footballing experience perspective but I think I really owe a lot of my maturing as a person and as a man to the football club. "For me, it's such a special place, the fans, the people that have supported me along the way. "I've never not felt supported by our people here at the club. "I feel incredibly lucky to have had that for so long." 👀 — Western Bulldogs (@westernbulldogs) July 22, 2025 Confirmation of the news comes a night after Bontempelli was named the club's second-greatest ever player, only behind the legendary Ted Whitten. Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge was excited about Bontempelli's future when asked about it last Wednesday: "I think we're getting close, but that's all I can really say." The 29-year-old has played 253 games for the Bulldogs after being taken with pick four in the 2013 draft. A tall, big-bodied midfielder, Bontempelli made his mark on the competition instantly. Bontempelli won the first of his six Charles Sutton medals as the Bulldogs' best-and-fairest in 2016, the season the club broke a 62-year premiership drought. The signing is a boost for the Bulldogs following two-straight defeats that has them sitting outside of the top-eight ahead of the final five weeks of the season.
7NEWS
2 days ago
- Sport
- 7NEWS
Kane Cornes and Western Bulldogs ‘agree' on team defence issues after Brisbane defeat
Kane Cornes, one of the Western Bulldogs' biggest critics in recent years, has lauded the club's acknowledgement that their team defence is letting them down. The Bulldogs sit ninth on the AFL ladder and are effectively two wins outside the eight — provided, as expected, that Gold Coast beat the injury-ravaged Bombers in their rescheduled make-up game after Round 24 — after going down to premiership contenders Brisbane last Friday night. WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Kane Cornes and Western Bulldogs 'agree' on team defence struggles. The Dogs were opened up by the kick-happy Lions who, true to their well-documented modus operandi, dominated uncontested possession and uncontested marks. Speaking after the game, both coach Luke Beveridge and star midfielder Tom Liberatore admitted team defence was their shortfall. 'That'll be the one that stands out for us with our team defence — we need to do it better,' Beveridge told reporters after Friday night's clash. 'It's just too hard to circumvent those scoring opportunities once they go into the middle, it just opens everything up.' In similar language, Liberatore added: 'Just more team defence. Our team defence wasn't really good enough for what they try and do and how they move the ball.' Cornes was earlier this year banned from the Bulldogs' changerooms and has a frosty, if at all existent, relationship with Beveridge due to his persistent criticism of the club. The pair exchanged words in a heated moment before the Bulldogs' Round 11 clash with Geelong at GMHBA Stadium. But Cornes is now singing the praises of Beveridge for finally recognising the glaring issue. 'A gallant effort by the Dogs, but the (lack of) team defence was the concession there from Luke Beveridge and also Libba,' Craig Hutchison said on The Agenda Setters on Monday night. 'It's been a claim they've been defending hard against your criticism all year, Kane, so do you feel a little bit vindicated that they're now conceding that's an issue in their game.' Cornes responded: 'I'm thrilled that we agree, that's the main point there. 'So, to hear Luke Beveridge and Libba say that and acknowledge that's been a big issue, to be on the same page now, is awesome. 'It's sort of what I've been saying for three years; they've pushed back pretty hard on that, they've got pretty nasty at times when (they've) been asked about that question. 'I think the footy industry is now clearly acknowledging what I've been saying for three years.' Asked by Caroline Wilson if the Dogs had 'paid enough attention to it' up until this point, Cornes was emphatic. 'Well, no! These numbers have been the mainstay of their problems for every year other than the years they've played in the grand finals and won the premiership under Luke Beveridge and he's refused to acknowledge it, he's got quite nasty about it,' he said. 'But I'm just sitting here and relaxed that we're now on the same page.'
News.com.au
6 days ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Former Bulldog Lin Jong opens up on Luke Beveridge's reaction to secret Collingwood tour
Former Bulldog Lin Jong has opened up on the stomach churning moment his secret tour of Collingwood exploded in the media, prompting a heated phone call from his furious coach Luke Beveridge. In an exclusive column for Code Sports, Jong revealed he wasn't ready for the 'whirlwind' that followed after he entered the Magpies' Olympic Park headquarters under the cover of darkness days before a clash with Sydney in 2016. Just 22-years-old and 29 games into his AFL career, Jong met with then Magpies coach Nathan Buckley, list manager Derek Hine and football boss Geoff Walsh for a 'casual' 45-minute conversation about this future and the two-year contract the Bulldogs had presented. But the night took a turn with a tour of the club's facilities. 'In my head I thought, 'That's not good',' Jong said after being spotted by what he assumed were four VFL players in for a late-night gym session. 'I'd already seen the facilities before I got drafted five years earlier, but I didn't want to be rude and decline the offer. 'That moment kicked off a whirlwind few days which I wasn't quite prepared for.' 'I was out at dinner with a few other teammates when my phone lit up,' Jong said. 'I answered the call but didn't do much talking myself. 'Bevo was clearly quite emotional, having just read the Herald Sun story which had broken online that evening about my meeting with the Magpies. 'His message was around trust: 'How can I trust you and how can the players trust you?' 'In my head, I'm immediately thinking, 'I've screwed up, my career's done and the Bulldogs will probably pull the contract offer off the table now'.' And that was just the beginning.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Lions brace for 'daunting' run home to AFL finals
Chris Fagan has narrowed his focus as the Brisbane Lions face a make-or-break stretch of their AFL premiership defence leading into the finals. On a three-match winning streak, the second-placed Lions face five top-eight rivals over the last six home-and-away rounds as the fight for ladder positions nears its climax. The difficult test starts in a huge clash with the Western Bulldogs at the Gabba on Friday night. "Every game's important. We have a particularly hard run, so I'm not looking too far ahead," Lions coach Fagan said on Thursday. "We're just wholly and solely focused on tomorrow night because that's about all you can think about at the moment, otherwise it seems too daunting. "One week at a time, big game tomorrow night against a really good opponent who have got a lot to play for as well." The Bulldogs (10-7) sit ninth after a home loss to Adelaide last round and remain firmly in the finals hunt, but have won just one game so far this season against a side currently above them on the ladder. Despite that record, Fagan is wary of an opposition midfield unit led by renowned ball-winners Tom Liberatore, Ed Richards and Marcus Bontempelli. "That's what you need to address," he said. "(Luke Beveridge's) teams have always been able to score and generally speaking they've been good defensively, albeit that's the criticism of them at the moment. "But I reckon they would've done a bit of work on that this week, so I'm expecting a good all-round game from the Dogs." Fagan will want a better start from Brisbane than in their previous encounter with the Bulldogs, when they trailed by 39 points early in the third quarter of their Gather Round clash at Norwood Oval. The Lions roared back with 13 of the last 16 goals to win by 21 points in one of the most entertaining games of the season. "I haven't really looked back but all I know is we were probably fortunate to win that game, coming from that far behind," Fagan said. "We wouldn't want to find ourselves in that position tomorrow night." Bulldogs spearhead Sam Darcy kicked 2.3 from 16 disposals and had eight marks in that previous clash, opposed to Harris Andrews. Fagan will again send his co-captain to mind the 205cm target, who has kicked 17 goals in five appearances since returning from a knee injury. "You probably wouldn't have to be a rocket scientist to work out that's who Harris is going to play on," Fagan said. "The rest of our defenders aren't quite tall enough to play on Sam Darcy. "Harris will have that job and I know he's looking forward to it. It will be a great clash." Fagan was tight-lipped on who would replace injured defender Noah Answerth (achilles), but ruled out Keidean Coleman and Tom Doedee. In-form forward Zac Bailey will also miss through suspension after receiving a one-match ban for his high bump on Carlton's Nick Haynes. "I've moved on because the bottom line is he's got a week," Fagan said of Bailey's ban. "My personal view is a little bit harsh, but that's probably all I want to say about it."
