Western Bulldogs players, staff have off-site meeting as pressure grows over poor form; Carlton Blues consider Jack Martin, Mitch McGovern for Melbourne Demons clash

“I have been blown away with how aggressive some of the comments have been in the media about a guy who has been coaching 10 years at the footy club with a grand final win and obviously being in the grand final only three years ago,” Egan said.

“He has definitely got the energy up for sure. I have never seen a coach connect as well as I have with ‘Bevo’ with his players. His ability to story-tell and create a narrative week to week with the players is amazing. His attention to detail with how he connects one on one.”

Egan praised Beveridge’s willingness to speak directly to individual players about the reasons for his decisions and said his relationship with players was his “absolute weapon”.

He said the pair had developed a bond and that bond allowed him to challenge Beveridge, and they were willing to engage in tough conversations because of their mutual respect.

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“We have seen teams in this position and know we can turn it around,” Egan said.

Bulldogs midfielder Adam Treloar backed Egan’s comments, saying the players must shoulder the responsibility for their below-par performances this season.

The veteran midfielder, who crossed from Collingwood at the end of 2020, also said he loved playing under Beveridge, and poor execution of plans was costing the Bulldogs.

”We knew there was going to be a bit of pressure but as a playing group we wholeheartedly take responsibility for the performances we are putting out there,” Treloar said. “The last two games clearly haven’t been up to scratch for us.”

Blues looking at big inclusions against Dees

Andrew Wu
Carlton are considering making at least two major calls at selection as they aim to snap a losing run that threatens to jeopardise their top-four hopes.

Forward Jack Martin is firming to play his first game of the season while defender Zac Williams remains in doubt to face Melbourne on Thursday night.

Martin, defenders Mitch McGovern and Brodie Kemp and wingman Oliver Hollands all took part in the captain’s run on Wednesday morning while Williams, Lewis Young and Caleb Marchbank were notable absentees.

Williams, subbed out last week with a tight glute, was briefly on the track but did very little to suggest he will face the Dees. The six-day break also counts against Williams, who is yet to miss a game since returning from a knee reconstruction in opening round.

Martin was an integral part of the Blues’ revival in the second half of last year but, sidelined by a hamstring injury, has not played at any level this season. Marchbank has not featured since injuring his back when concussed on Good Friday against North Melbourne.

Blues coach Michael Voss will wait until after training to finalise his 23 for Thursday night’s rematch of last year’s epic semi-final but is not worried by Martin’s lack of match practice, having gone through a conditioning block in the opening rounds.

“Anyone we put out there we feel like that they’ve done enough of the work, the planning is very precise, and we’re able to expose them to a very much a game-like environment, and that gets them ready,” Voss said.

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“If we feel like that they’re ready to go for the AFL it’s because we feel like they’ve got the adequate preparation to be able to get out there and get the job done.”

Voss said he could not fault the effort of spearhead Charlie Curnow, who was criticised by Essendon great Matthew Lloyd for not fighting hard enough when the chips were down.

“The strength is in our collective, that’s what I think, and I think he buys into that extremely well,” Voss said.

“The role we ask him to play and the teammate we want him to be I’ve been nothing but impressed with how he’s been, how he’s approached that, and he knows as well as anybody that our success is off the back being able to get our forward line cohesion right, and our connection right, and he’s got a role within that.

“He’s got to be a competitor within that, but we are all searching for that extra level of consistency in what we do. And he’d be no different in that.”

Considered one of the leading premiership contenders this year, the Blues are at risk of falling out of the eight this round should they lose to the Dees. They play ladder leader Sydney at the SCG next week.

‘We want Sam in the media’: Scott thrilled with Draper’s response

AAP

Essendon coach Brad Scott says Sam Draper couldn’t have responded better to his recent dressing-down as the ruckman appears no guarantee to return from injury against GWS.

Scott also dismissed reports a media ban had been placed on the charismatic ruckman after attracting ire for comments made about Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge on a podcast.

While imitating a journalist as part of a fun role play, Draper stated some Dogs players would request a trade at season’s end if Beveridge stays on as coach.

Beveridge described the comments as “bizarre” while his Bombers counterpart Scott said they were “disrespectful” and he’d let Draper know he was “really disappointed” in him.

When asked how Draper, 25, had responded to his criticism, a grinning Scott said: “Like the gun he is.

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“I love Sam, I love working with him. This is the opportunity that I see, as a coach of young men – you make a mistake and you learn from it and you acknowledge a mistake and move on.

“I’ve even had a briefing that we put a media ban on Sam – we haven’t put a media ban on Sam Draper.

“I mean, that would be doing a disservice to our fans and to all those little kids running around with mullets with No.2 on their Essendon jumper. We want Sam out in the media in public and representing our club.

“He had a misstep, he learned from it, we put a full stop on it, we’ve dealt with it as a club and as a team and now ‘Drapes’ more than anyone wants to move on.”

After missing last week’s win over West Coast with a knee injury, Scott said Draper’s selection depended on how he got through training. Draper had his leg strapped and looked proppy early in Wednesday’s training.

“That’s certainly our intention – to get him out and train and hopefully he feels really good,” Scott said. “But again, we need him to be very close to 100 per cent before we play him.

“It’s the knee that’s the issue – the previous [hip] surgery he had last year’s not the issue that’s keeping him out of playing.

“He’s just got what we hope is a relatively minor knee issue, but it’s a bit sore. And if he trains well, he’ll play. But if he’s not close to 100 per cent, he won’t.”

Jye Caldwell trained and is expected to face his former club on Saturday at Marvel Stadium despite being substituted out of the West Coast game with calf tightness. Young defender Zach Reid (hamstring) could return via the VFL.