Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge says it’s too early to tell if Zak Butters will join his club while remaining confident of keeping two young guns.
Beveridge remains bullish about his club’s future prospects after exiting the finals with a 22-point loss to Adelaide in Saturday night’s elimination final.
But he says it’s unknown if his playing squad will be bolstered by the arrival of superstar midfielder Zak Butters, who has left Port Adelaide.
The Dogs and Geelong are considered frontrunners for the signature of the three-time All Australian.
Asked if the potential arrival of Butters could elevate his team, Beveridge said it was “too early to be speculating on that sort of stuff”.
“It’s going to be difficult for everyone with the compromised draft over the next couple of years, and I believe we’ve set ourselves up pretty well,” he said.
Beveridge was confident both Arty Jones and Buku Khamis would remain at the Bulldogs.
“The signs are pretty good with Buk (Khamis) and Arty,” he said.
“We’re getting to the point where that’ll come to a head shortly and we’re really hopeful that those two boys are going to be with us next year.Jones, who kicked a career-high four goals against Collingwood last week, is out-of-contract and Essendon and Brisbane have been pursuing the West Australian.The Bulldogs have reportedly put a three-year contract to the small forward, while Khamis has been heavily linked with a move to Carlton.The Bulldogs are expected to sign key Adelaide defender Jordon Butts, who falls off-contract at season’s end.
Butts, who has fallen from selection favour and not featured in AFL ranks since early June, has resisted signing a four-year contract offer from the Crows.
There are also questions over Bulldogs ruckman Tim English’s future at the club, with interest from GWS.
Beveridge had mixed emotions after the loss to the Crows – disappointment but pride in the gains made this season.
He said was “great spirit within the group, and I believe the boys have come a long way, and it’s a good platform for the future.”A lot of the younger guys have shown a hell of a lot of improvement,” he said.With the AFL’s “state of flux” due to addition of a Tasmanian team in 2028, he hoped the Bulldogs could “keep most of our group together and evolve a little bit organically and add a few important players to our blend”.”In this market with Tasmania coming in and the compromise situation, we’ve had to plan a long way out,” he said.”So we’re working through it, but definitely we’re a younger group, we’ve evolved, and so looking at more experienced acquisitions are pretty important for our list management team at the moment.”
