Luke Beveridge has been branded ‘footy’s most famous grudge holder’ after a bizarre moment saw him appear to snub Channel 7 broadcaster Brian Taylor, after the Western Bulldogs sealed an 88-point victory against the GWS Giants on Thursday.
Some are now calling for the AFL to step in and investigate the footy coach’s snub, after Taylor, who was doing his usual post-match dressing room walk around, asked him for a quick chat.
During the ‘Roaming Brian’ segment, which often throws up plenty of laughs and insights into what the players get up to after sealing such a big win, Taylor asked Beveridge ‘for a quick word’.
‘Can we just grab one question with you?’ he asked the footy coach.
Beveridge turned and looked at Taylor, cutting a very frosty look, before ducking around the Richmond and Collingwood great, while muttering a few words back at the presenter.
Taylor then added: ‘Don’t you do Channel Seven anymore, Bevo?’ Taylor added, appearing to reference Beveridge’s recent feuds with some of Channel 7’s presenters.
Luke Beveridge (right) has been blasted for appearing to snub an interview with Brian Taylor (left) following the Western Bulldog’s 88-point win against GWS on Thursday
During his usual ‘Roaming Brian’ segment, the footy great entered the Doggies’ dressing room and asked Beveridge for an interview
Beveridge (left) ducked awkwardly away from Taylor (right), before appearing to share some words with him which were inaudiable
Beveridge had banned certain members of Seven’s broadcasting team, including Kane Cornes, from entering the Bulldogs’ changing rooms after full-time.
Cornes and Beveridge have exploded at each other in recent months, with the polarising former Port Adelaide pundit previously claiming that the coach had underachieved despite clinching a premiership with the Doggies in 2016. Beveridge has hit back multiple times, claiming he feels ‘sorry’ for anyone who has to work with Cornes.
They later appeared to clash on the side of the footy pitch back in May ahead of the Bulldogs clash against Geelong at the GMHBA Stadium. Beveridge had been walking past Cornes, who appeared to turn and fire off some strong words at the coach. Beveridge returned service before walking away.
But Beveridge’s latest Channel Seven snub appears to have rubbed some of Cornes’ colleagues up the wrong way, with Caroline Wilson stating on Tuesday that his behaviour was unacceptable.
Wilson, who writes for The Age, did not hold back, lambasting Beveridge for treating Taylor in this manner.
‘Luke Beveridge not only embarrassed himself last Thursday night, but he robbed Western Bulldogs supporters of an off-the-cuff insight into one of the club’s greatest wins this year,’ she said on Tuesday night’s episode of The Agenda Setters.
‘What a poor look for the Western Bulldogs coach to refuse to speak to roaming Brian of all people.
‘But it seems that football’s most famous grudge holder has decided to ban an entire network on behalf of one or two commentators, neither of whom were anywhere near the Bulldogs’ rooms or in fact the game on Thursday night.’
Caroline Wilson (pictured) has hit out at Beveridge over the incident, branding him ‘footy’s biggest grudge holder’
Craig Hutchison also explained that the AFL should investigate Beveridge over the matter
‘The following night, Matthew Nicks delivered a wonderful and again off-the-cuff insight into the joys of primetime victory. Matthew Nicks, a coach who’s been smashed by the media in recent years.
‘It is just extraordinary to me that a broadcaster that pours millions of dollars and so much more into footy every year is treated like this.
‘And that Beveridge repeatedly gets away with it.’
She added that members of the Bulldogs’ hierarchy should be telling the coach that he should be fulfilling these media opportunities.
‘It’s extraordinary to me that somebody at the club doesn’t tell him that he’s got to do it,’ she continued.
‘What’s Brian Taylor ever done to Luke Beveridge? It is just … Just embarrassing.’
Journalist Craig Hutchison was equally strong in his assessment of the bizarre moment.
Hutchison even went as far as calling on the AFL to investigate Beveridge’s snub.
Beveridge notably banned Channel 7 pundit Kane Cornes from entering the Bulldogs’ changing rooms earlier this year. The pair had also squared off in a stoush on the touchline before a game – with both sharing some choice words
The footy coach (pictured) has held some long-running spats with certain members of the media including Tom Morris and Damian Barrett
‘I’m on the record about the reliance of the game on these two big broadcast deals. It’s unthinkable to me,’ he said, reflecting on the incident.
‘If you are a coach in that situation and you continually don’t want to be interviewed, you should be fined immediately.
‘I’m staggered the AFL haven’t done something about that if that is the case.’
It’s not the first time that Beveridge has feuded with members of the media.
The Bulldogs coach notably held a long-running stoush with Nine’s Damian Barrett. Back in 2019, he claimed the journalist had a ‘black soul’ and had told him to be careful when criticising his players.
He has also gone head-to-head with Fox Sports’ Tom Morris. Morris had correctly filed reports that Lachie Hunter was set to be left out of a Bulldogs’ squad back in 2022 for a match. However, Beveridge later hit back at the journalist over the report, calling it ‘gutter journalism’.
