How Butters would be a game changer for Beveridge, not just the Bulldogs

June 16, 2026 — 7:55pm

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Consider the improbable event of Essendon or Carlton approaching Luke Beveridge and offering the 2016 premiership coach their senior coaching position on a contract of at least four years and more than $1 million per annum.

Normally, a coach in Beveridge’s situation could take the money and run, despite his contract for 2027.

When a coach has coached a club for a long time, and wants a fresh start elsewhere, the incumbent club rarely stands in his way; unlike some gun players, there is little point retaining the coach who wants out.

Beveridge is in his 12th season at Whitten Oval and one can mount a case that both parties would benefit from a “parting of ways” (the euphemism that clubs deploy even for mid-season removals of coaches), simply on the basis that coaches have limited life spans at clubs.

I’ve had coaches I’d run through walls for. These are the five questions Essendon, Carlton and Tassie should ask

Libby BirchAFL columnist

Did it benefit Hawthorn and Alastair Clarkson to stick together after 2017, when Jeff Kennett returned to helm the ship? No.

At the onset of 2025, the Dogs........

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