Breaking news:Luke Beveridge and Chris Grant depart with a “strained connection” amidst ongoing tensions.
Tensions between Luke Beveridge, the senior coach of the Western Bulldogs, and football boss Chris Grant have reportedly resulted in an “uncommon” situation at Whitten Oval, where Beveridge now reports to someone else.
Their relationship is described as “strained,” with Beveridge’s wish to retain assistant coach Rohan Smith at the Kennel potentially contributing to the rift.
According to 9 News Melbourne, Matthew Egan, the newly appointed general manager of football operations, is now Beveridge’s direct report instead of Grant, despite Egan’s recent arrival at the club.
Egan, a former Geelong player and assistant, was appointed by the Dogs last October in a newly established role of coaching and performance manager. However, a recent review led to a change in his role ahead of the season.
While the Bulldogs claim the change was made to lighten Grant’s workload, reporter Braiden Ingram has revealed that the relationship between Beveridge and Grant is strained due to fresh tensions.
According to Ingram’s report on 9 News, the relationship between head of football Chris Grant and Luke Beveridge has become strained. It’s widely known that Beveridge wanted to retain departed assistant Rohan Smith last year, but Grant and CEO Ameet Bains had a different perspective, contributing to the strain in their relationship.
After hiring Matthew Egan from Geelong as coaching performance manager, the Bulldogs promoted him to general manager of football operations just a few months later following a review of the football department. This essentially means that Beveridge now reports directly to Egan rather than Grant.
Ingram highlighted that it’s highly unusual for a senior coach not to report directly to the head of football, except in cases like Ross Lyon, who deals directly with the president. The Bulldogs claim the change was made to alleviate Grant’s workload, but it’s evident that the relationship between the two men is no longer as strong. This situation is something to keep an eye on during the upcoming season.
While Beveridge is contracted for the 2025 season, the upcoming campaign is crucial for him after failing to reach the top eight in 2023. Despite his winning seasons over the past five years, Beveridge has only secured three finals victories since leading the Bulldogs to their historic premiership in 2016.
There were recent rumors linking Beveridge to a potential vacancy at Fremantle if Justin Longmuir were to leave the Dockers, but the club from Western Australia denied these speculations.
The Bulldogs will kick off their new campaign against Melbourne at the MCG on Sunday, March 17th.
