Beveridge welcomes rugby coaching giant to the Kennel

WALLABIES coach Joe Schmidt spent part of Tuesday afternoon picking the brains of Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge inside the Whitten Oval. 

The 59-year-old coached Ireland and the All Blacks before landing the job leading Australian rugby union last year.

The 2016 premiership coach connected with other coaching luminaries, including Tottenham Hotspur head coach Ange Postecoglou and Sydney Kings coach Brian Goorjian, via Aleda Connect, the company run by Western Bulldogs great Luke Darcy.

Schmidt has followed AFL from afar for years and hosted Mick Malthouse in Dublin one off-season before spending time in the coaches’ box when the legendary coach was at Carlton.

“I really enjoy those opportunities,” Schmidt said on Tuesday afternoon.

“That cross pollination of ideas, nothing needs to be hidden, no IP needs to be hidden. He is such a grounded bloke that he is easy to talk to.

“We spoke about how we try and keep environments positive and keep a growth mindset. It is hard to be successful long-term in an environment. I think he’s done a great job here, obviously.

Schmidt and Beveridge posed for a range of photos before the New Zealander said the pair share a passion for books, not just on building high performance environments, but novels to escape like I Am Pilgrim.

“We finished up talking about how we try to disconnect ourselves from the game,” Schmidt said.

“We spoke about some books we read lately. Some of them were performance-related books and some were books you use to escape the manic environment we live in – easy books to escape on planes and distract ourselves when there is so much going on in your head.”

Both coach and club were content entering the season with this arrangement, but after a stunning start to the year, where the club has overcome a range of injuries and off-field drama, Beveridge and the Western Bulldogs appear on course for a deal for 2026 and beyond.