Bulldogs have stagnated, says Beveridge

Jun 8, 2017 - 5:28 PM A candid Luke Beveridge says his Western Bulldogs side have stagnated, but it is his responsibility as coach to reignite the defending AFL premiers' stalled campaign.

The Bulldogs lost every quarter on their way to a 46-point away defeat by a desperate Sydney side at the SCG on Thursday.

They kicked just 2.3 in the first half and 6.6 for the game, their lowest score of the season.

They were smashed 65-16 in the hitouts, 71-39 in inside 50s and finished well behind in contested possessions and marks.

Beveridge even resorted to throwing Marcus Bontempelli into some ruck contests, but conceded that was one of many ploys that didn't come off on the night.

The loss dropped the premiers to a 6-5 record this season.

Beveridge said out-of-favour midfielder Tom Liberatore wasn't the only Bulldog performing below his best this year.

"I'm sure he'll come in at some point, but we need our players playing at their very, very best, it's. It's the reason why we're six and five, because we've stagnated," Beveridge said.

"You don't get picked on reputation if you're not playing well enough.

"I'm not disappointed in him because I admire him and we owe him too much for what he's already done.

"We're frustrated that the majority of our players who carried our club last year, for one reason or another, haven't been able to find their best.

'"It's up to all of us to take responsibility. The buck stops with me, I'm the one who needs to get them going.

"We've got great people who work at our footy club, but it's my responsibility to reignite the flame.

"It's my responsibility to get us going again and play somewhere near the levels we were last year, regardless of whether or not we lose personnel at different times through injury, and I haven't been able to do that to the level that I'd like, as yet.

"Hopefully at some point we get some momentum and we start playing near the standard that we know we can play, but it's been too spasmodic."

Beveridge suggested he would tweak, rather than overhaul, the Dogs' style of play, following their fifth loss in as many games outside Melbourne this year.

"We need to continue to evolve and to get better, tonight we looked off the pace in many areas," Beveridge said.

"Does that mean you move away from the core principles of the way you play? Definitely not, but there needs to be a renewed energy towards it for us to be a threat in the back end of the year."

The coach added defender Marcus Adams had suffered a midfoot injury and hoped scans would show it was not serious.

Source: AAP