Beveridge we couldnt stem the tide in Demon show of might power

Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge said the Dogs could only give credit to Melbourne for their stunning third quarter that saw the game and the premiership gone “in the blink of an eye.″⁣

Beveridge wasn’t sure if his team’s “arduous” travel burden had been an issue, but described Melbourne’s dominance as a show of “power and strength” in the midfield, where Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver dominated the final 45 minutes and young ruck Luke Jackson was influential.

“You’ve got to give Melbourne credit,” said the Bulldogs coach after an extraordinary grand final in which the Bulldogs led by 19 points mid-third quarter before the Demons booted 16 of the next 17 goals, with forward Bailey Fritsch booted six goals.

“To think we were 19 points up during that third quarter and for the scoreline to end up as it was, was a considerable show of power and strength out of the middle.″⁣

Beveridge said the Bulldogs were unable to Melbourne, which took over in the clearances. “We couldn’t stem the tide, we couldn’t get a clearance and get it into our half.

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

To the issue of the travel burden - the Dogs flew to five states in the course of the finals - the coach said: “Has our journey been too taxing, has it taken it out of us? I’m not too sure.

“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.″⁣

But Beveridge would have liked a closer result despite Melbourne’s excellence.

“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.”

The Bulldogs, fifth in the home and away ladder, had also come from the elimination final, overcoming Essendon in Launceston, the Lions at the Gabba, before upsetting Port Adelaide in Adelaide.

Jake Niall is a Walkley award-winning sports journalist and chief AFL writer for The Age.Connect via Twitter or email.

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