- Western Bulldogs blindfolded their players during the training exercise
- Luke Beveridge tried to explain the logic behind it
- He was not happy that the exercise was caught on camera by the media
The Western Bulldogs were spotted in a bizarre training exercise during media conference day on Thursday.
Cameras captured footage of the players wearing blindfolds as they were put through their paces at Whitten Oval in unusual scenes.
Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge later led reporters and was asked a few softball questions about Rory Lobb and Ed Richards before being hit with the question on everyone’s lips.
“I was hoping you wouldn’t ask me about that,” Beveridge said.
“Josh Piterman, the Phantom of the Opera (star), said he concentrates even more when he puts the mask on, so we thought if we kept both eyes closed our boys would be able to concentrate a little bit more,” he said . before quickly adding: ‘I’ll take the p***, of course.’
Western Bulldogs stars were spotted training with blindfolds in bizarre scenes
Beveridge admitted that the timing of the media’s arrival coinciding with the conduct of the practice was unfortunate, but attempted to explain the left field concept.
“When I saw (the cameraman) standing there with the camera, I told (assistant coach) Matty Spangher the timing couldn’t be worse,” Beveridge said.
“So there are bits and pieces that Johnno (coach of goalkicking specialist Brad Johnson) and Matty Spangher (forwards coach) do with the strikers, just to get them thinking about other things.
‘Obviously it goes against logic: you see the ball on your boot on a set shot, so it helps remind you in a significant way that you have to do that.
“You know, it’s really hard to kick when you’re blindfolded…”
Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge tried to explain the strange drill to reporters
Elsewhere, doubts are growing over Lobb’s future at the Bulldogs, with the club expected to prioritize retaining fellow ruckman Tim English over the former Dockers star.
“If Tim English stays, I expect other clubs will come down hard on Rory Lobb,” Seven reporter Mitch Cleary told Talking Footy.
‘He was linked to St Kilda a few seasons ago when he initially made the move to the Kennel, so watch this space on Rory Lobb.
“At 31 I think he still has some footy left in him and I think rival clubs will start asking for a player of his quality.”