WESTERN Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge says misfiring playmaker Matt Suckling needs to "recalibrate" following several costly turnovers during last Saturday's loss to St Kilda.
Lured to Whitten Oval by the opportunity to play in one of the AFL's most exciting and attacking teams, the free agent signing from Hawthorn has largely been a success in his first season at the Dogs.
However, Suckling's lauded left foot failed him at times on Saturday night, and he ended the game with five clangers and a kicking efficiency of just 42 per cent.
Essendon great Matthew Lloyd labeled some of Suckling's extravagant efforts as "too cute" and "garbage" on AFL.com.au, and said his performance was "nearly a droppable offence."
Beveridge, who was an assistant coach to Suckling at the Hawks, is backing the 28-year-old to turn his form around.
"Matty needs to recalibrate parts of his game (and) he knows that, so we'll get him back on track," Beveridge said on Tuesday.
"He played extremely well against Gold Coast (the week before) and he was one of our best players up (in Cairns).
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"He wasn't so good against the Saints, (but) he's had a significant impact on our progress this year, so we just need to minimize the games like the Saints one.
"He doesn't have too many like that, so hopefully that (game) is an anomaly."
However Suckling's stats show his haphazard disposal problems have been around longer than a week, with his kicking efficiency dropping in the past month from 72.3 to 58.2.
He also ranks equal 11th for turnovers at the Bulldogs with 3.2 per game, and in the past four rounds he's committed 22 clangers, second only to Lachie Hunter's unenviable team-high 27.
Renowned for his attacking coaching style, Beveridge doesn't want Suckling to shy away from his high risk, high reward style – just to be a little more measured.
"We definitely give him a licence to be creative and he can be quite brilliant, but all the best kicks in the game – and Matthew is one of them – can be their own worst enemy if they try to cut off too much," Beveridge said.
"He'll recalibrate and he'll get it right."
Another player Beveridge is confident will hit form soon is key forward Tom Boyd.
In his second game back from a club-imposed ban, the 20-year-old was mainly employed in the ruck against the Saints, due to some reshuffling after defender Dale Morris sat out the second half with a hamstring complaint.
And if the Dogs are to break a nine-game losing streak against the Cats on Friday night at Simonds Stadium, and reclaim a top-four spot, the coach is hoping Boyd will be contributing by hitting the scoreboard more in the absence of the injured Jack Redpath.
Boyd has kicked 6.6 from six matches in 2016.
"I thought Tom was quite outstanding in the ruck and it's pretty difficult to kick goals and have to ruck for three quarters of the game," Beveridge said.
"Hopefully we're not in that situation this weekend and he'll play forward a bit more.
"He's going to be pivotal to us getting that momentum back over the next couple of weeks."
