Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge has put the “mental health” facet of getting to sub somebody out of a recreation on the agenda as he confirmed Tom Liberatore ought to return for Saturday’s grudge match towards the Giants after recovering from concussion.
Toby McLean went unused instead final week and Beveridge, who was an advocate for a five-man bench somewhat than 4 and a sub, stated the difficulty of taking gamers out of video games for tactical causes remained a troublesome one for him.
“I hate the fact that he didn’t play at all,” Beveridge stated on Thursday.
“But also what we’ve got to consider is every time you see a player sit down from a tactical point of view, how hard it is for the player, and the spotlight is on him in a time where we’re concerned about mental health more than any other time.
“Players getting subbed out of the game at different times is a huge challenge for the player in particular, for the team and absolutely from a people management perspective.
“I hate the decision you have to make, and we;ll absolutely make it where we need to.
“At the start I was advocating for just having five (on the bench) and no sub because that means it wasn’t so crystallised and so glaring, and you can manage the five accordingly.
“But it is what it is and Toby will be ok this week.”
Liberatore returns so as to add to a Bulldogs midfield that Beveridge says is sharing duty properly as they hunt a return to the highest eight with a win towards GWS.
Beveridge stated he was happy by the Bulldogs’ midfield efficiency with out Liberatore within the 29-point win over Hawthorn, with star Marcus Bontempelli subjected to a heavy tag and down on his regular impression.
He praised the efforts of Caleb Daniel (27 disposals, six clearances) and Bailey Smith, who began quietly however gathered 15 second-half possessions because the Bulldogs reeled in vital early deficits in clearances and contested ball.
“(Liberatore) should be OK, he’s got an important session (Thursday morning), but it’s the last little tick off – he should be OK. All the signs are good,” Beveridge stated.
“Their blend through their midfield brigade has been quite strong and performed well up to expectations – I was really pleased last week that we spread the load through there.
“I thought Caleb’s game was influential, Adam Treloar’s having a tremendous year, really got going in the second half, and Bailey Smith and Jack Macrae made pivotal contributions through there as well on a day where Marcus probably wasn’t as prolific as he has been.”
The Bulldogs are on the hunt for a 3rd consecutive victory towards fierce rivals GWS, however Beveridge stated though there have been vital personnel modifications this yr, there was nonetheless “some stimulus for rivalry”.
“There’s been some great history there … I think no matter who you play each week, there’s always something in the past that’s happened,” he stated.
“Interestingly enough, from when we played GWS last time, they’ll probably have 10 different players, we’re likely to have nine or 10, so each time you play there’s a fresh set of faces and guys who haven’t experienced playing against GWS.”
Source: www.news.com.au
