Bulldogs face “pretty extreme” circumstances

WESTERN Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge concedes his side is likely going to have to head to Perth on Sunday and live under severely restricted circumstances ahead of their round fifteen match up against West Coast next Sunday.

The Dogs had originally expected to fly to Sydney for an extended training camp before jetting into Perth on game day, in order to comply with Western Australia’s strict COVID protocols.

But following their after-the-siren five-point loss to Geelong on Friday night, Beveridge said the club now faced some “pretty extreme” circumstances to ensure the game goes ahead as a result of COVID cases being detected in New South Wales.

“There’s a lot going on behind the scenes at the moment,” he said.

“For the [players] to turn and put some of the peripheral things out of their head and just focus on the challenge of playing the Cats at their home base and to get so close, we’re grateful for what our boys did [on Friday night].

“Pre-game, there was a lot of organisation that went into going to New South Wales amongst everyone, with family and friends and with each other.

“For it all to be shut down and now with the probability that the AFL are going to want us to be under tight restrictions somewhere to play the West Coast Eagles, that compared to having a few days off and refreshing, is pretty extreme.

“The circumstances are a bit different this time than what they have been.

“I think with the freedoms going back in Victoria, the problem is now all the borders are closing to each other with the cases Australia-wide so we’re in a bit of a bind.”

– BY LAURENCE ROSEN/ SEN