A 22-point loss to Hawthorn on Thursday night has left the once-feared Western Bulldogs with more questions to answer sitting four points adrift from the top eight.
On the back of a spirited loss down in Geelong a fortnight earlier, it appears the Dogs’ lack of forward depth has finally caught up, with coach Luke Beveridge forced to make a drastic change at half time against Hawthorn to ensure his side stayed in the contest.
With the Hawks dominating the inside 50 count on the back of Josh Weddle’s intercept marking, Bevo made a Sam Mitchell-like call to send key defender Rory Lobb into the forward line to help stem the tide.
“In the second quarter I was getting dragged away from the contest a little bit, (Jack) Gunston was taking me deep,” Lobb told 3AW after the game.
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They sit outside of the eight after a 22-point loss to Hawthorn.
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“They were getting a lot of intercept marks behind the ball. Bevo just sort of said in the second half to go down and provide a contest.”
With Cody Weightman done for the year, Jamarra Ugle-Hagan still absent, and Aaron Naughton having little impact, Beveridge made a similar switch by bringing Buku Khamis off the interchange to offer another marking option on attack.
“I tried to do the best I could, and I prefer to be down back, but obviously we needed more of a contest up forward - it would have been nice to kick a couple more goals,” Lobb went on to say.
The Dogs are set to receive a much-needed boost ahead of next Thursday’s must-win clash against St Kilda with superstar forward Sam Darcy due back from a knee injury.
Lobb started the interview by saying the Dogs aren’t where they want to be at this time of year, but that Darcy is going to make an immediate impact fresh from a spell.
“He’s worked on his body even more in rehab, I think he’s put on a couple more kilos,” Lobb said. He’s going to be a handful when he comes back and allow me to stay behind the ball.”