The following is a statement from St Kilda CEO Matt Finnis:
The St Kilda football club congratulates Luke Beveridge on his appointment as coach of the Western Bulldogs.
When we appointed Luke to the new role of Director of Coaching at the Saints early this year we did so in the knowledge that he possessed all of the credentials and character required to become a senior coach – albeit we had hoped this would occur following his contribution to our coaching program first.
Luke was due to begin with the Saints last Monday but this was obviously pushed back due to the interview process he was participating in with our consent.
We accept that this is his first opportunity to be a senior AFL coach and, while the timing is not ideal for us, we have been aware for a number of weeks that he was being considered for this position and have been planning accordingly.
The Saints will not be seeking compensation from the Bulldogs.
Our main recruitment focus in the football department right now is on securing a new General Manager Football Performance and we look forward to making an announcement on that role soon.
