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AFL skippers support origin return | 01:48
The Western Bulldogs are aiming to return to the finals scene in what shapes as a hugely important year for off-contract senior coach Luke Beveridge.
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Beveridge enters this AFL season as the only coach whose contract future is uncertain going into 2026, placing unique yet unfamiliar external pressure on the 54-year-old.
It comes following a season where the Bulldogs won just three of their first eight games but finished with a wet sail, winning eight of their final 10 matches to secure sixth spot.
The Dogs fell convincingly to the red-hot Hawks in week one of the finals, but Beveridge’s brigade managed top feats in key measurables, thus plenty of optimism surrounds this side — particularly from their superstar skipper’s perspective.
“I think if you look at the key stats around our offence and defence from last year, it was a really strong profile,” Bontempelli told foxfooty.com.au.
“We made some really good leaps in our offence and our defence, but there were just a few games there where it was totally off, which, in the end, skewed a few things for us.
“And in the end, that’s (what) you hone in on; you go to work on the parts of your game that maybe you (were) found out by opposition teams, and you look at how to counteract that.”
The Bulldogs ranked No.1 for points allowed and No.2 for points scored, only behind Sydney in the latter.
And while pressure will fall on Beveridge this year, particularly if the Dogs’ form slumps in stretches, there aren’t many bigger ‘Bevo’ supporters than Bontempelli.
“Haven’t noticed it (the external pressure), to be honest,” the captain said.
“He and I have worked closely for a number of years now — all but one of my seasons (in the league). I feel like we know each other really well.
“He’s as keen as I am for us to start the season in better fashion than maybe we have in other years, and I think that’s important for most teams to lock in on, but especially us, because we have, unfortunately, made a habit of catching up too often and sometimes getting there (to the finals), but it’s not how you want your season to play out, ideally.
“(Ideally) you’re able to start quite strongly and troubleshoot on the fly with things that might need advancing.”
Since the Dogs started a blistering 6-0 in 2021, Beveridge’s brigade has been held to sluggish starts of 3-5 in 2022, 2-3 in 2023, and 3-5 last year.
“I’m fully confident in (Beveridge) as a coach and as a person, I’ve spent a lot of time with him, he knows this group really well,” Bontempelli added.
“(We’ve) got a really strong assistant coaching group around him that I think is going to point us in the right direction.
“So, I think, for him, it’s just learning how to be a 10, 11, 12-year coach in the competition, and what is going to work for him and how he continues to stay mentally fresh after a long campaign as a coach for our club.”
The 54-year-old mentor will have new fresh-faced and ready-made talent at his disposal in 2025, including ex-Carlton midfielder Matt Kennedy, a trio of high draftees — Cooper Hynes (No.20 draft pick), Lachie Jaques (No.29), Josh Dolan (No.31) — and mature-age swingman Sam Davidson (No.51).
Gone in the off-season were household names Bailey Smith (Geelong), Jack Macrae (St Kilda) and Caleb Daniel (North Melbourne), while Alex Keath (retired), Aiden O’Driscoll (retired), Dominic Bedendo (delisted), Charlie Clarke (delisted) and Kelsey Rypstra (delisted) also departed.
And while Smith and Macrae leave a void in terms of midfield depth, Ryley Sanders, entering year two, is being tipped for a breakout season to more-than-compensate for the aforementioned exits.
The dynamic Tasmanian ball-getter has made diet changes in order to get himself in better shape, and according to his teammates, it has paid dividends.
Sanders during match simulation against Essendon at Whitten Oval on February 15, 2025 (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images“His body composition is totally different,” Cody Weightman told foxfooty.com.au of Sanders’ changes between years one and two.
“He’s gotten a lot leaner, and he’s changed some things in his diet to make him a more aerobic player … he’s an impressive runner.
“To be doing that (while) lighter but still be strong, that sets him up to have a really good athletic profile to challenge opposition players.”
All-Australian midfielder Adam Treloar added: “He’s the most professional kid you’ll ever see come into the AFL.
“He’s certainly got the motivation and the drive to be one of the great players of the game, one of the great players of our footy club — which is great, I’m glad he’s on our side.
“I think what you can expect is his ability to get out of stoppage and really use his legs, explode away and let his strengths shine in that regard.
“He had a bit of baby fat on him (compared) to now; he’s like a shredded machine who just looks great.”
As for another Bulldogs emerging star, Sam Darcy looks set to spearhead Beveridge’s key position personnel in the front half alongside Aaron Naughton, as well as Jamarra Ugle-Hagan once he returns to the senior side from personal leave.
Having kicked 38 goals from 21 games last year, father-son product Darcy is tipped by many to take his game to the next level — having now settled into a role full-time up forward after stints down in defence.
“Every year you try and keep working on things and getting better, improving as a player, and I think I’ve done that,” the 21-year-old admitted to foxfooty.com.au.
“I’ve been pretty healthy over summer and played a lot of minutes in match sim against guys like Liam Jones and Rory Lobb. It’s been really good for my development playing against (those guys) over summer, and I feel like I’m physically ready to make an impact this year.
“I love watching the way ‘Naughty’ (Naughton) goes about it; his attack on the contest, he’s been a really unbelievable player for us for a long period of time now. I’ve learned a lot (from) Naughty and love playing with him.”
STRENGTH
Creating offence. At their healthy best, the Bulldogs have all the firepower necessary to do serious damage. They recorded the second-most shots at goal per game (28.5) in the league last season, just .2 behind reigning premiers Brisbane. Between the existing talent in that forward line and the quality of ball users they have streaming through the middle of the ground, the danger the Dogs pose as a scoring juggernaut is immense. Only Geelong scored more points from stoppage last season than the Western Bulldogs, which speaks to both a purring midfield operation and an effective attacking structure.
WEAKNESS
Goalkicking accuracy … and depth. While the Dogs are elite when it comes to creating scoring opportunities, they are among the AFL’s worst when it comes to capitalising. Their accuracy (goals scored divided by shots at goal) rate of just 46.9 per cent last season ranked fourth-worst, ahead of only West Coast, Richmond and Port Adelaide. And with Weightman sidelined and uncertainty regarding Ugle-Hagan’s timeline, the Dogs may also struggle creating those same opportunities they did at points last year. Further, injury luck hasn’t been on the Dogs’ side this pre-season, with Weightman (knee), Treloar (calf), Liam Jones (hamstring) and Jason Johannisen (hamstring) all under respective clouds on the eve of the season. If Jones can’t get up for the start of the season, expect Buku Khamis or third-year backman Jedd Busslinger to plug the hole alongside Lobb in key defence.
PREMIERSHIP CLOCK
9pm. The Dogs pose such a scoring threat, and at their height they play such an exciting brand. Even despite injuries, as long as Bontempelli and Tom Liberatore are leading from the front in the midfield and Darcy and Naughton up forward, they will be in most games as their stars heal.
PREDICTED LADDER RANGE
7th-10th
PREDICTED RD 1 TEAM
B: T.Duryea, R. Lobb, L.Bramble
HB: J.Freijah , B.Khamis, B.Dale
C: R.Sanders, T.Liberatore, B.Williams
HF: L.Vandermeer, A.Naughton, M.Kennedy
F: R.Garcia, S.Darcy, R.West
FOLL: T.English, M.Bontempelli, E.Richards
I/C: J.O’Donnell, J.Harmes, H.Gallagher, L.McNeil, S.Davidson
EMG: A.Jones, C.Poulter, J.Croft
