WESTERN Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge says a lack of composure cost his side victory against Sydney with the Dogs’ goalkicking accuracy again ranked the worst in the AFL.
It was an emotional seven-point win for the Swans with players wearing black and white armbands to celebrate the lives of Gary and Amie Rohan’s twin girls Bella Rae and Willow Nevaeh.
Willow passed away five hours after she was born on Thursday and both coaches paid tribute to the family with Rohan watching on from Sydney.
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“I just want to wish the Rohan family all the best,” Sydney coach John Longmire said.
“They’ve had mixed emotions this week and I hope Gazza and Amie are back there and really enjoying the win.”
Beveridge offered the Dogs’ condolences before taking questions.
“(Our) thoughts go out to Gary and Amie Rohan on the passing of their daughter Willow,” Beveridge said.
“I’m sure family and friends are comforting them and our thoughts are with you.”
The Dogs scored 2.5 (17) from their last 25 inside 50s and they have now kicked more behinds than goals in each of the first four rounds.
Last year the Dogs’ accuracy of 43 per cent was ranked 18th and that has dropped to below 40 per cent in 2018.
Josh Dunkley (0.4) and Matthew Suckling (0.3) missed chances while Luke Dahlhaus didn’t score from his two set-shots.
Dunkley dropped a mark running into an open goal late in the last quarter but Beveridge praised the premiership player’s contribution as a marking target.
The Swans were smashed 60-42 in inside 50s but got out of jail and they have now won 13 of their past 14 matches at Etihad Stadium.
Sydney plays another four matches under the roof this year.
Ollie Florent coolly booted the winning goal despite a magnificent chase by 205cm ruckman Tim English and Beveridge was frustrated with his side’s execution in the final term.
“I think the looks (at goal) are good enough,” Beveridge said.
“We had some shots from the boundary that we didn’t convert but Sydney had similar shots that they did convert.
“As much as we admire and have a lot of faith in our players, we’re not to the level we should be in completing those set-shots.
“I think we had good enough looks though, absolutely.”
But after a dismal opening two rounds the premiership coach was pleased his side’s brand.
“We’re playing like we want to play now and our challenge is to sustain it and win,” Beveridge said.
Captain Easton Wood kept superstar Lance Franklin to 3.4 and won some pivotal one-on-ones in an enthralling duel.
The Dogs’ 2016 Grand Final hero Tom Boyd kicked five second-half goals in the VFL with Beveridge was most pleased with his marking inside 50m in the third quarter.
Longmire was happy with his team’s response in the second half and said Franklin’s shoulder was fine after a scare in the second term.
“Sometimes you’ve just got to find a way to win and to our players’ credit they found a way to win even though the stats clearly were in the Bulldogs’ favour,” Longmire said.
“We just found a way in the end. They had more scoring shots.
