Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge says he was pleased with the way his side adjusted against North Melbourne after early injuries to key defenders Liam Jones and Tim O’Brien.
The Bulldogs steadied in the second half to register a 21-point win at Marvel Stadium, and will now enjoy the bye before a jam-packed Kidzmania clash against Fremantle in round 16.
“I was really pleased with the way everyone adjusted. (Losing players) means you are asking others to stay out there for longer,” Beveridge told media post-game.
“Cody was outstanding – he was one that stayed out there for a lot longer, and was a good one for us to consider. Historically Cody has played little segments of game time which suits him, but he was obviously really influential in the game.
“I thought North were really good. I thought their contest, their intensity, how they confronted us with their game – it was impressive.
“It was another important element to the fact our boys endured in the end, under a bit of duress.”
To help cover the loss of Jones and O’Brien, Beveridge sent sharpshooter Aaron Naughton back into defence.
However, it’s a move the coach said wouldn’t be permanent.
“Aaron’s really important for us forward, so it’s unlikely (we’ll play him in defence) because we’ve got options,” Beveridge said.
“If we didn’t have anyone else who could possibly play there on our list, then we’d have to consider it absolutely, but James O’Donnell, Josh Bruce, Ryan Gardner – they were all pretty solid in Footscray’s win against Williamstown.
“There are some boys there who can come in and play those important roles – as much as they weren’t necessarily at their best the week before, they’re still there.”
At the end of round 14, the Bulldogs sit in seventh spot on the ladder with eight wins.
Beveridge said a key focus for his team will be challenging those above them in the back-half of the season.
“We’re just a margin off the best teams in the comp. Today we had 72 inside 50s, so I think we’re playing the way we want to play, but we’re making too many errors with the football in space, and sometimes out of congestion where we’re giving the opposition too many looks,” he said.
“There are some things here and there, and we’ve had some challenges with our personnel over the last period of time. That’s just a matter of fact – every team confronts it.
“In this game, you can bridge those gaps – you do need a little bit of good fortune with your personnel and your injury toll, but we’ve got to do a few things better than what we have consistently to threaten.
“We’ve given ourselves a look – we’re sort of in there in that lower part of the eight.
“It’s our objective in our last nine games to see if we can nip at the heels of the more established sides at the top end. We’ll see what we can do.”
Tickets to the Bulldogs-Dockers Kidzmania clash are on sale now. For more information on Kidzmania, click here.
