{"id":836126,"date":"2026-07-31T17:54:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T17:54:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/836126\/"},"modified":"2026-07-31T17:54:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T17:54:13","slug":"we-came-here-to-win-not-to-be-safe-beveridges-home-truths-as-docker-juggernaut-marches-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/836126\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018We came here to win, not to be safe\u2019: Beveridge\u2019s home truths as Docker juggernaut marches on"},"content":{"rendered":"

August 1, 2026 \u2014 12:41am<\/p>\n

Save<\/p>\n

You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n

Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n

AAA<\/p>\n

Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge has denied he deliberately plotted to drag Fremantle into a congested, defensive scrap in the Dockers\u2019 37-point win on Friday night, 11.12 (78) to 5.11 (41).<\/p>\n

To most observers, Beveridge and his team appeared to come in with a clear blueprint to turn the game into a stifling, contested battle by setting up in numbers behind the ball to clog Fremantle\u2019s forward half and deny the Dockers the space they thrive on.<\/p>\n

\"ByBy Luke Beveridge\u2019s own admission, the Bulldogs \u201cfuelled Fremantle\u2019s game\u201d at Optus Stadium.AFL Photos<\/p>\n

Frustrated, Fremantle were made to sweat for the best part of three quarters, before turning on the afterburners late to move to an 18-2 record, all but putting a bow on the minor premiership.<\/p>\n

But Beveridge rejected suggestions he devised the unconventional plan of attack, insisting his side was forced into the scrappy style.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had them [extra defenders] back because Fremantle had territory, and we couldn\u2019t get it into our front half \u2013 that\u2019s why,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t plan to play like that.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t by design that we had saturation in numbers behind the ball.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to press up at different times, and we didn\u2019t get our execution right. We came here tonight to win the game, not to be safe and not to eliminate risk.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we didn\u2019t execute well enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

Editor’s pick\"Arkie<\/a><\/p>\n

Whether by design or not, the Dogs transformed the first half into a stoppage grind, strangling and sandbagging Fremantle\u2019s transition game, silencing the 53,524-strong crowd and reducing the league\u2019s most potent attacking side to a scrap.<\/p>\n

But there were fleeting glimpses of the usual Docker brilliance.<\/p>\n

Luke Jackson soared for a majestic mark over opponent Tim English before converting the game\u2019s opening goal with 23 minutes already elapsed.<\/p>\n

Then, in the second quarter, Patrick Voss produced a powerful one-on-two mark over Michael Sellwood and James O\u2019Donnell as the Dockers threatened to break clear.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Tyson<\/a><\/p>\n

Scores were level at half-time, but there was a sense the Bulldogs were just clinging on, their 14 first-half inside-50s the third-lowest tally on record.<\/p>\n

It was always going to be a difficult way to win for the Dogs, made even more challenging when their scoring completely dried up after half-time.<\/p>\n

Josh Treacy and Hayden Young celebrated their 100th games in style, the former booting three goals to break open the stalemate, and the latter curbing the influence of the great Marcus Bontempelli.<\/p>\n

Jackson shaded English in the ruck, while unsung backs Karl Worner and Oscar McDonald intercepted with aplomb to strangle the Dogs\u2019 forward line.<\/p>\n

\"JoshJosh Treacy is one of the AFL\u2019s most imposing forces up forward.Getty Images<\/p>\n

The Bulldogs showed there is a formula to keep Fremantle in check for a quarter, two quarters or even three. But eventually the Dockers\u2019 relentless pressure and superior class proved too much.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had field position on our terms for the majority of the night, and we just persisted really well,\u201d Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir said.<\/p>\n

\u201cUsually when you get that much supply versus the opposition and that much time in forward half, the dam wall eventually breaks.<\/p>\n

Save<\/p>\n

You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n

Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n

From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"August 1, 2026 \u2014 12:41am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":836127,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":["post-836126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/836126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=836126"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/836126\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/836127"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=836126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=836126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=836126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}