AFL 2026: Why was Adam Treloar benched for third quarter, Western Bulldogs lose to Adelaide Crows, Luke Beveridge presser, retirement, calf injury

There’s serious questions being asked on the future of Adam Treloar after the Bulldogs veteran was benched for almost the entire third quarter of his side’s tough loss to Adelaide on Thursday night.

While coach Luke Beveridge defended the decision, Fox Footy’s experts have concerns over what the move means for the 33-year-old Bulldog who has battled a string of soft tissue injuries recently.

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“It’s such a sad story because he was so recently a superstar of the game, 2024 an All-Australian. And right now at least, he’s what he never wanted to become which is a passenger,” Jon Ralph said.

“Only a handful of games last year – then he played a great VFL finals series where he convinced himself he could play on again under a one-year deal.”

Ralph said Treloar had previously told the Herald Sun: “I never want to play scared again. I can’t run around in the fear of hurting myself. I never want to be a liability to the team”. But Ralph said “it almost felt like he was a liability” in that third term where he spent the majority of it on the exercise bike as his team trailed by 40 points.

“Having watched him really closely, he doesn’t play centre square mid but he doesn’t explode away from the contest. He jogs from the contest,” he said.

“He’s still smart enough to get a handful of possessions. Let’s face it … he wasn’t Robinson Crusoe in terms of being a passenger out there, but you image there’s a decision out there ahead – do we play other players?

“It’s a big decision ahead.”

Fox Footy’s Leigh Montagna and Jason Dunstall agreed there was a conversation to be had.

“Unfortunately for him his body doesn’t allow him to do what his mind thinks he can still do,” Montagna said.

“I’m sure there’d be some mental challenges with that as well. That confidence and doubt in his body – he just doesn’t look anything like the player we know has been an absolute star and it’s been over a two-and-three week period now.

“There are some younger players that might have more energy about them with their running capacity that I think deserve a go.”

“If your pace is gone, you’re going to be in trouble,” Dunstall said.

“It might be a decision that he makes, as opposed to the club makes. We don’t know – only he knows exactly how he’s feeling and whether there’s any scope for improvement.

“If he’s reached the peak of what he can do physically, then there’s no doubt he’s in trouble – but we don’t know that yet so we’ll wait and see.”

Treloar was playing just his fifth game in season 2026 – after managing just four games last year off the back of a string of soft tissue injuries.

The 263-game veteran bravely opened up about those calf struggles last year, revealing it was the “most emotional” he’d been following an injury setback last June.

“I had to turn off my phone and just gather my thoughts, basically. I have lived and breathed football my whole life — for my whole life,” he shared.

Despite last year’s injury woes, the midfielder still signed a one-year contract extension taking him to the end of 2026.

Speaking to media after his side’s heavy defeat at Marvel Stadium, Beveridge was adamant it was just a team balance decision to keep Treloar benched.

“Luke Kennedy’s first game, Luke’s got high endurance. We were working through who should be playing different roles and covering the ground different ways,” he shared.

“We thought we’d save Adam up for a run at it in the last quarter.

“He came on at the start of the last quarter and had an impact.

“So with the five (on the bench), you’re looking for output at different times. You make decisions throughout the course of the game.

“We figured with Adam’s profile at the moment that we’d look for a spot in the last quarter for him.”

It was during the third term that two-time premiership Roo David King questioned if the Dogs were taking a “conservative” approach to Treloar.

But Cam Mooney replied: “We just got word from the Bulldogs’ bench down here that he is fine apparently, so there’s nothing there other than he can’t get on the ground.”

“It’s an interesting one, you say they’re conserving them but I just don’t think he is that important to their team anymore,” Montagna said.

“There’s an element it could be the opposite and he just wasn’t getting it down out there … and having no impact on the game.”

Treloar finished the night with just 55 per cent time on ground – with only injured Crow Luke Pedlar having less game time and he was ruled out before half time.

He managed 10 disposals – six contested, two marks, one clearance and one tackle.

Treloar is in his sixth year at the Bulldogs after his highly-publicized move from Collingwood at the end of 2020.

He’d played 79 games at GWS prior to his move to the Pies for the 2016 season.