Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge doesn’t want talk of “street fights” and nastiness distracting his players when they try to exact grand final revenge against Melbourne in round 1.
The two clubs are again tipped to contend for the AFL premiership after playing off in last year’s decider, which the Demons won in a landslide after trailing by 19 points in the third quarter.
But the grand final aftermath, including reports that footballers from each team nearly came to blows in a nightclub incident, has dominated discussion this summer despite both clubs playing it down.
Beveridge said he wouldn’t use that to motivate his group before the season opener at the MCG on March 16 but only the players knew if there was any actual spite.
“They’re the ones who’ve obviously been exposed to the face-to-face on the ground and, obviously, there are some stories coming out of what happened in Perth,” he told SEN.
“None of us were there, so we can’t speak to it. I don’t know. If there’s a fierce rivalry emerging, then I think it’s healthy for the game and healthy for both clubs.
“Is there a jealousy of what happened on grand final day last year? You’d hope so, and if that drives our passion and our vigour in the round 1 game, that’s going to be important.
“But getting caught up in any peripheral around street fights and confrontational aspects; it’s probably going to take us away from the core of how we want to play.
“It’s important we strike a balance with where our focus is, and I definitely won’t be building up any of that in the lead-up.
“It’s a new season, it’s a time to re-establish ourselves, and hopefully we don’t need any more incentive than just to chalk up those first four points in front of, hopefully, a really big crowd at the MCG.”
Beveridge said he was taking a “glass half full” approach to his side’s grand final appearance and avoided addressing the reasons for the collapse on the biggest stage because he feared he would “miss the mark”.
“Our players will never come to me and say they were cooked or fatigued,” he said.
“I think you can dream a little bit; you can think you’re on the dais when you’rxjmtzywe up by 19 points in a grand final. I don’t know whether that happened, (but) these are the things that you’ve got to deal with.
“But I did say the other day that in triumph or defeat, you need to move on and re-establish yourself … there’s an air of positivity around the place, which is important, and there is lots to be gained on how we got there.”
Beveridge has adopted the same philosophy in dealing with his own “psychological, emotional challenge” after experiencing great disappointment.
“If you spend too much time processing what’s happened in the past, you’re only going to do yourself a mischief,” he said.
“So, for my health and wellbeing, for my benefit, all I’ve done is just pushed ahead. I reviewed the game; I watched it once. I pulled everything out of it that I usually do and I’ve left it there.
“It hasn’t been shown; it hasn’t been looked at since. I’d rather dwell on what the possibilities are into the future.
“(I’ve stuck to) my usual journey through the off-season of reading and preparing and making sure I’m keeping fit and doing different things, and I’m fresh and ready to go.
“I’ve had a haircut and I’m looking forward to the challenge on March 16.”
