‘Don’t fully believe him’: Ex-Dogs star’s reason for leaving questioned following Brisbane training claim.
Josh Dunkley’s departure from the Western Bulldogs has sparked speculation, despite the fact that the now-Brisbane midfielder claims to have “no problems at all with the club.”
Port Adelaide champion Kane Cornes questioned Dunkley’s claim after a video of an interview with the Lions’ website surfaced on social media.
“It’s been a fantastic preseason so far. “The boys have come back very fit and are running extremely well,” Dunkley said.
“Which has been a bit of a change for me, too, because we didn’t run as much at the Dogs as we do here.”
Cornes questioned whether the Bulldogs’ season-ending fade-outs in the last two finals campaigns, against Melbourne in the 2021 Grand Final and Fremantle in the 2022 elimination final, were due to a “lack of fitness.”
He also mentioned Dunkley’s statement in the interview that the Lions have “even better midfielders” than the Bulldogs.
Dunkley took to Twitter on Wednesday night to respond to an angry Bulldogs fan, claiming he had been “taken way out of context.”
“I genuinely have no problems at all with the club,” Dunkley stated.
“However, if that’s how you want to hype up round three (when the Lions face the Bulldogs), go ahead. “All I’m looking forward to is playing against my old teammates.”
Cornes wondered if Dunkley was hiding the truth.
“I don’t completely believe him when he claims he has no problems with his former club. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have tried so hard to leave twice,” he told SEN’s Sportsday.
“His former coach, Luke Beveridge, claimed Dunkley left only for money.
“I’m not sure that’s completely accurate, either.”
On the final day of the trade period, the Lions acquired Dunkley, as well as a future third- and fourth-round pick, in exchange for Pick 21, a future first-round pick, a future second-round pick, and a future fourth-round pick.
His manager, Liam Pickering, took a shot at the Bulldogs after the deal was completed, telling Trade Radio: “I think it could have been done first thing this morning, to be honest.
“Haggling over a future pick, a fourth-round pick that will most likely never be used, but that’s what we do.”
Dunkley had previously requested a trade to Essendon, with Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge believing money was the motivation for the exit requests.
“He could’ve gotten a better deal, but we still offered him a lucrative contract… Probably the Essendon approach showed him how much he could have earned at another club, and that would have been part of it,” Beveridge told the Herald Sun late last year.
“I think it’s a combination of maximising your opportunity and leveraging good form, and we haven’t been able to meet his contractual demands.”
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