Western Bulldogs veteran Taylor Duryea has come to the defence of Luke Beveridge on the eve of the Dogs coach's final year of his current contract at Whitten Oval.
Beveridge inked a two-year extension after the 2022 season, having already taken the mantle as the most successful coach in the club's history, and surpassed club icon Ted Whitten as the the Dogs' longest-serving coach earlier this year.
The 54-year-old has faced scrutiny across the past three seasons, having failed to win a final since leading the Bulldogs to the 2021 season decider.
An elimination final defeat to Hawthorn in September saw the Dogs bow out of another finals race, with 12 months left on Beveridge's contract and expectations again seeking premiership contention.
Beveridge's future is anticipated to be one of the bigger talking points of the 2025 season, but his playing group will pay little attention to the external "noise", instead placing their focus on improving as a collective.
Speaking to media on Wednesday, Duryea said outside commentary has often turned on coaches but fails to distract players.
"It's just the landscape unfortunately," he said.
"I like the positive nature of media and celebrating people. We've got to a stage where [the media] like to see people out the door more than when we like to celebrate them while they're in the building.
"For us as players, all we can do is apply ourselves to training, try and get better, and connect as a group. It's all cliche stuff but that essentially quietens the noise for Bevo and those type of things help the situation.
"It's not a distraction (for the players), our sole focus is getting better as a team. Nothing changes there."
The Bulldogs' coaching cohort has undergone further change for next year, with Collingwood premiership defender Ben Reid joining the likes of Jarryn Geary and Alex Johnson as a development coach.
The support network under Beveridge will further aid the club's plans for 2025, with Duryea confident the Dogs have the right personnel onboard.
"Definitely," Duryea said when asked if his coach's message still cuts through to the group.
"Last year we had really good additions in our coaching staff, and again (this year) Ben Reid comes onboard. We've got a coaching group that's really supportive of Bevo and allows him to showcase his strengths.
"The new faces bring new ideas. That helps freshen the group up and help us go where we need to go."
Beveridge has recorded 130 wins from 230 games in charge of the Dogs, headlined by the club's drought-breaking premiership victory in 2016. The Western Bulldogs have won seven of 13 finals matches under Beveridge, however all seven come from just the 2016 and 2021 campaigns.
The Dogs' 2025 season gets underway against North Melbourne on Saturday, March 15 at Marvel Stadium.
