Beveridge 'comfortable' with coaching future despite Dogs' shock loss

LUKE Beveridge has declared he is "comfortable" with his coaching tenure after the Western Bulldogs crumbled to a monumental upset to lowly West Coast.

A seven-point loss at Marvel Stadium on Sunday means the Bulldogs' finals destiny is out of their hands.

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With their season on the line, the Bulldogs turned in a below-par performance and were ambushed by a team that had won just four of its previous 47 games.

The Bulldogs will need to defeat Geelong at GMHBA Stadium next Saturday night to have any chance of featuring in the finals for a fifth straight season.

Beveridge, who coached the Bulldogs to the 2016 premiership, is contracted until the end of 2025.

But the heat will come onto Beveridge if the Bulldogs fail to make finals this year with a star-studded list headlined by Brownlow Medal favourite Marcus Bontempelli.

"Absolutely," Beveridge responded when asked if he was the man to continue leading the Bulldogs.

"Sometimes you need to evolve, and if at the moment, we're in this sort of static area of a performance point of view, we'll work out why it is.

"But from a leadership perspective and coaching the team and the club, I'm really comfortable with my tenure."

Beveridge said the challenge of beating the Cats in Geelong, where the Bulldogs last won in 2003, was one of the biggest of his nine-season coaching career.

"It's all about sticking together," he said.

"Any time in this game when you face adversity, which we are, it's about making sure that you're glued together looking towards the week trying to find optimism.

"It's been 20 years since we've won down there (in Geelong), and as much as we haven't won in my time, we all inherit the previous 10 or 11 (losses)."

The result dragged the Eagles off the bottom of the ladder for the first time since May 21, meaning they will avoid claiming the club’s second wooden spoon if North Melbourne doesn't beat Gold Coast next week.

West Coast had been in the box seat to snare Harley Reid, this year’s nominal No.1 draft pick, for most of the season as it occupied the bottom of the ladder.

"It's been a pretty heavy last few weeks. Really proud of them," Eagles coach Adam Simpson said.

"Obviously galvanised throughout the week after a bad game against Fremantle, and our younger players followed our leaders."

The only downside for the Eagles was a hamstring injury to Eagles premiership hero Elliot Yeo, who will miss the farewell game for club legends Shannon Hurn and Luke Shuey against Adelaide on Saturday night.