Western Bulldogs football manager Matthew Egan has leapt to the defence of under-fire senior coach Luke Beveridge, declaring he has been "blown away" by the "aggressive" criticism against him, despite the club's key stakeholders meeting for a review on Wednesday.
After copping a shock eight-point loss at the hands of Hawthorn in round eight, Beveridge's future at the helm is up in the air.
It comes as pressure continues to mount after an off-season review that aimed to find additional support for Beveridge.
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Head of football Chris Grant and CEO Ameet Bains took over off field football departments to alleviate pressure on the 2016 premiership coach before the 2024 season.
But Caroline Wilson isn't convinced the review is helping Beveridge in the slightest.
"I'm not still sure exactly what role Chris Grant is playing," Wilson said on Nine's Footy Classified on Monday night.
"The changes seemed to me, were basically saying 'the coach has had too much power, he's made some wrong decisions, he hasn't handled situations well and he should have had more strength around him'.
"I don't see that as necessarily happening, at the end of that review."
With a record of 3-5 after eight rounds, Beveridge's job is on the line if he can't will his side into a September campaign, according to Wilson.
"They need to make finals. If they don't make finals, I don't think Luke Beveridge will be there next year," Wilson said.
Now the criticism has reached Beveridge's support network, with Egan stepping in to defend the "incredible coach", amid a review meeting held between key Dogs stakeholders on Wednesday.
"I have been blown away with how aggressive some of the comments have been in the media about a guy with a grand final win," Egan said on SEN radio on Wednesday.
"It feels like it's been a little personal and aggressive against Bevo."
Egan, who was an All-Australian for Geelong in 2007 and also coached Essendon for three games in 2015, lauded Beveridge's unrivalled connection with players, labelling it something he's never seen executed better.
"In my experience in footy coaching for 16 years, I have never seen a coach connect better than Bevo with his players," he said.
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"He has strong connections with not only players but their families. This is probably his absolute weapon.
"He's an incredible coach, Bevo."
Despite the high praise for the coach, Egan admitted the club is addressing their rocky start to the season, which they believe starts at the top.
"Yesterday was review day, it was off-site for the first time," he said.
"It was more of a discussion on our club and where we are at and some changes we need to make. We had some conversations around what we what it to look like."
The Dogs will look to bounce back after their shock Hawthorn loss, facing off against Richmond at the MCG on Saturday night.
