Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge spoke to the media post game.
How do you sum up the night?
A back-and-forth game. Playing obviously a very good side in the Cats, and you need a fair bit to go right, and it was a night that was never really had any momentum, but pleasing in that our boys persevered, and we changed on the run a little bit, and challenged the Cats but probably did not get enough supply early in the game and Geelong probably owned the territory with what they were doing and got us with some of their clean open field play, but ultimately, it is a loss where… It could have been anyone, even though the margin was three goals in their favour most of the night, we are pleased we did not go away, and, obviously, if the game goes for a bit longer, you never know.
Marcus Bontempelli of the Bulldogs and Tom Stewart of the Cats.Credit: AFL Photos
Late in the third quarter, 26 points behind, they have been here twice in two weeks, and two games this week, did you feel at three-quarter-time you were really coming?
Are you talking about the fatigue in their legs? I suppose it is in the back of your mind a little, but I was not putting it down to necessarily then dropping off, I just felt like we were a little bit away, and we missed two goals and they went all the way up the other end from kick ins and the one where Sammy and the one about Latham and we were not set up defensively on those longer, quicker points and they ripped it through. That was the game, so it felt like it was sliding doors to a degree, all night. I felt like centre bounce was a factor in the first half, and then our mids and rucks even that up but I never felt like we weren’t in it, and the boys, we need to pride ourselves in the fact that, no matter what the scoreboard is, we are not going to go away and that was the case tonight. I don’t know the Cats are going as far as their fatigue levels.
A magnificent game from Libba, the captain stands up, Liam Jones blanket Tomahawk, Sam Darcy kicks three goals, was it just those moments with their clean a position that made the difference tonight?
A little bit, some of the balls that slipped out, at centre bounce or stoppage or two, we went backwards initially and they came straight out the front stop that hurt, so I think those moments without the player to stop that because we had over committed, but was a factor in the game. There are positives in some of the individual games, and there was strong leadership and voice and follow through with actions for a lot of our players, so definitely a lot of positives. It is always difficult. But we will take the positive factors into this week and look to draw on them against the Bombers on Friday night.
Source Agencies
