Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge isn\u2019t \u201cparanoid\u201d about taking his Ferrari off road.<\/p>\n
The tweak to the centre ball-up rules and prospect of PCL knee-on-knee injuries won\u2019t deviate the Bulldogs from using ace big man Sam Darcy in the ruck.<\/p>\n
Darcy pulled up lame from the State of Origin game and did not train on Thursday before the Dogs\u2019 Opening Round blockbuster with Brisbane Lions.<\/p>\n
Beveridge says throwing Darcy in the ruck isn\u2019t a concern but says his players are wrestling with the pros and cons of protective measures.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am not paranoid about PCL injuries and these sorts of things, but one of the practical challenges is the lads who are going in there are weighing up whether or not they put a shin pad on,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you\u2019re playing key forward, or even as a key defender because we used Lobby a bit last year as a ruckman as well, you don\u2019t really want to be running around in your areas with a shin pad if you don\u2019t need to.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s probably the only headache it\u2019s caused as far as preparation goes. I am not concerned about the other stuff (Darcy getting hurt).<\/p>\n
\u201cI have said it about the AFL before, I think they\u2019ve flinched too often in the past where something\u2019s happened and they just change it.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need a pattern of things to happen for a consideration of change, again, we just started with it. Players will get injured, but they will get injured all around the ground.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt takes a lot of courage for ruckman to do what they do, but if you ask Simon Madden, ask Steve O\u2019Dwyer, ask the great jumpers of yesteryear and they\u2019ll just say \u2018toughen up\u2019, won\u2019t they? I am not worried about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Darcy is widely expected to take the competition by storm this year and some even consider him a chance to nudge a century of goals.<\/p>\n
The dynamic tall kicked 48 goals across 17 games in a breakout 2025 season.<\/p>\n
The ever-honest Beveridge disagrees with certain parts of the Darcy hype, saying the idea of his forward reaching triple figures is \u201cfantasy land\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201c(Darcy) was having a strong pre-season until (State of Origin), we looked after him to make sure he could play full noise in the rep game,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe came out of that game a bit sore, so he\u2019s had some interruption and hasn\u2019t played since then and he\u2019s missed some training.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis last month has been a spluttering month, so that\u2019s not ideal \u2026 the outcomes as far as goals go, Aaron (Naughton) kicked 60 last year and no one\u2019s really talking about him.<\/p>\n
\u201cAaron created a lot of opportunities for players and Sam will as well; our push is just that he\u2019s just a huge threat that creates huge headaches for the opposition.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the talk around 100 goals, how many goals he will kick, I think it\u2019s a bit fanciful.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwenty-three games and Sam, I\u2019d predict he won\u2019t play 23 games before you might be able to talk about a finals series if you earn the right.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne-hundred goals is fantasy land for me \u2026 he\u2019ll kick a lot but a bit like our backs and pressure, the supply routes are critical.\u201d<\/p>\n