Luke Beveridge silent on Jack Silvagni interest as he talks up Western Bulldogs defensive improvements

Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge is adamant the defensive tweaks his team continues to make will enhance their premiership credentials while reluctant to divulge whether Carlton’s Jack Silvagni would join the backline in 2026. The Bulldogs have been linked to off-contract Silvagni, son of Carlton legend Stephen, along with Collingwood and Essendon. While Magpies coach Craig McRae confirmed he had a “first date” with Silvagni and Essendon coach Brad Scott also reportedly met with the 27-year-old at his house, Beveridge was less inclined to detail his club’s reported pursuit “I think with any free agent like Jack, every club’s antenna is up,” Beveridge said on Thursday. “But I’ve always maintained the line of not talking about who we’re chatting with behind the scenes, just purely out of respect for our playing group. “Some of our lads (are) still uncontracted, they don’t need to be thinking too much about who might take their spot. “And also probably out of respect for someone like Jack ... in that he’s got to spend time at his current club, if he is planning to move on.” Silvagni could add to a defensive set-up that Beveridge said had improved significantly in recent weeks after heavy criticism when the Bulldogs conceded an average of nearly 14 goals a game from rounds 17-20, a period that included losses to top-four teams Adelaide and Brisbane. But the Dogs limited GWS to just six goals last weekend, while maintaining the AFL’s best offence, which averages more than 108 points a game, with twin towers Aaron Naughton (50 goals) and Sam Darcy (43) in red-hot form. “The promising thing is, we were No.1 in defence going into the finals last year and we’re tinkering with it,” Beveridge said. “We’ve had a couple of good weeks, defensively we have been pretty sound. Keeping the Giants to that low score is evidence we can do it. “But the really promising thing is our scoring. We’re significantly ahead of the rest of the pack, and that’s exciting, not just for now but for the future. “I think we have eked out way up to seventh on aggregate defensively and No.1 offensively. If we can now knock a few over, in a few weeks’ time it will look pretty healthy.” The ninth-placed Bulldogs have to beat Melbourne on Sunday at the MCG and then win the final two games against West Coast and Fremantle to secure a finals spot. Beveridge forecast a continuation of young star Darcy rucking less to ensure the Bulldogs remained strong offensively, with defender Rory Lobb slated to be back-up to Tim English. “He’s pivotal in that, and he’s a pretty good ruckman, Lobby,” Beveridge said. “We’ve got to strike the right balance.”