Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge has affirmed his confidence that Buku Khamis will remain at the kennel in 2026.
Carlton has offered the out-of-contract defender a four year deal with three years on the table from the Dogs, where he has played a career-high 19 games this year.
“Buku loves it here. We've nurtured him since he was a young fella and he's playing the best footy he ever has but we understand the pressures from the outside with the contracts and monetary attraction and different cap space,” Beveridge said.
“We get it that players are going to leverage themselves but he loves it here and I'm expecting him still to be here next year.”
The Dogs coach also reiterated his opposition to Wildcard Round.
Western Bulldogs look certain to play off in this year's Wildcard Round, needing to win out to have any chance of sneaking into the top six. Beveridge's men play Fremantle, North Melbourne, Carlton and Melbourne on the run home.
“The wildcard system I'm not a fan of historically because the seventh and eighth team could still win it winning four games whereas now seven to 10 have to win five in a row so I'd prefer the old system but if that's what your lot is, I'm sure all four teams will have an inner belief they can win all five,” Beveridge said.
“It remains to be seen. We want to finish as high as we can. The test is in our own head. If we win all four, we feel like we'll definitely be in the top six but if we drop one, we'll be in that mix.”
