1 week Ago By Kane Cornes
Imagine if Luke Beveridge and the Western Bulldogs had heeded the signs at the close of 2022, when the Dogs suffered a terrible loss to Fremantle in the first week of the finals , that the party was coming to an end. Beveridge would have emerged a prime target for clubs such as Gold Coast, Essendon or GWS, who were all searching for senior coaches. He would have been one of the most in-demand coaches of the past decade.
The Bulldogs leave the field after their finals loss to Fremantle in 2022. Credit: AFL Photos Imagine if Nathan Buckley and Collingwood had parted ways sooner, before the infamous fire sale of the 2020-21 off-season set in motion a torrid season of underperformance. Would he be a senior coach at another club now? Beveridge and Buckley are not the only coaches to have lingered in the job for too long.
The same could be said for Port Adelaide’s Ken Hinkley, who in August signed a two-year contract extension . Had Hinkley walked away after 11 years at the Power with an exemplary home-and-away record, he would have been in demand as a senior coach. If Port Adelaide fail again this year, he may never get another chance.
And what about West Coast premiership coach Adam Simpson? He was sought after by his original club North Melbourne recently, but opted to stay at the Eagles. The tide may be starting to turn for the Eagles as the Harley Reid effect kicks in, but it will be a long way back. What if, instead of opting for the security of his current job, he had opte.
