Dogs’ hopes ‘vanished in the blink of an eye’

THE Western Bulldogs’ terrific 2021 season came crashing down in Saturday’s 74-point grand final loss to Melbourne at Optus Stadium.

In defeat, coach Luke Beveridge gave full credit to the Demons after admitting the Dogs “couldn’t stem” their third quarter that saw Melbourne pile on goal after goal.

With the Dogs leading by 19 points at the 13-minute mark of the third quarter, Melbourne kicked 16 of the last 17 goals and as Beveridge described post-game, the match was all but over “in the blink of an eye”.

“To think we were 19 points up during that third quarter and for the score line to end up as it was a considerable show of power and strength out of the middle,” Beveridge said.

“We couldn’t stem the tide, we couldn’t get a clearance and get it into our half.

“That happened so quickly, and in the blink of an eye, the game is almost gone, so all we can do is credit them.”

The Dogs finals journey has been tough, with the men from the west winning finals in Launceston, Brisbane and Adelaide, however Beveridge does not put the defeat down to that but does admit it’s been “arduous”.

“Has our journey been too taxing, has it taken it out of us? I’m not too sure,” Beveridge added.

“There’s no doubt it’s been arduous, we’ve had some challenges, but I couldn’t be more grateful for what our players have been able to do to get us to this stage.

“When you look at the scoreline, I don’t reckon it’s a great reflection on our year.

“As good as Melbourne were, it would’ve been nice, if you’re going to go down go down, in a bit of a tighter tussle.”

Melbourne’s victory breaks a 57-year-old premiership drought.