A SENIOR coach giving his team a spray to his players after a narrow defeat is as old as the game itself.

And Luke Beveridge did not mince his words in the briefing room following his team’s two-point loss to North Melbourne on Saturday night.

Beveridge’s direct and highly emotive language could be heard around the changing rooms, despite the fact he was behind a closed door with players and key staff.

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One insider said it was the most brutal spray Beveridge has delivered since the former Hawks assistant arrived at the Western Bulldogs ahead of the 2015 season.

It takes little imagination to work out the type of words Beveridge favoured. Similarly, it is not difficult to guess which players he directed his frustration towards given the eight-minute address was focused primarily on the final 120 seconds of the match.

The 2016 premiership coach’s words could be deciphered from the other side of the room where family and friends were positioned.

When quizzed on the merits of his feedback, Beveridge was initially unimpressed media were allowed in the rooms at all.

“You blokes shouldn’t be in there really when the coach is talking to the players if you can hear me through the walls, but that’s OK,” Beveridge told reporters.

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The coach declared there were 12 mistakes made in the final two minutes that led to his rant, a tirade midfielder Lachie Hunter later told 3AW radio was completely warranted.

Specifically, Beveridge was incensed his forwards failed to “compress”, which left ample room for the last-gasp Roos to move the ball down the ground and ultimately slot the winner courtesy of North Melbourne captain Jack Ziebell.

When pressed on the direct nature of his review to the players, Beveridge said he did what was necessary to get the message across in the hope it does not occur again.

“I don’t want our boys to walk away from tonight thinking ‘that was good and we almost got there”,’ he said.

“We should have got there and we walk away after that little discussion probably with an understanding that next time we’re in that situation, in the memory banks and the reminder that we didn’t do well is there, and we’ll get it right.

“You can’t tip-toe around that and go lightly when it’s such a significant stage of the game. As you walk in you have to consider what was good and what’s going to help us the following week and that’s how we had to process it tonight.”

Restricted free agent Mitch Wallis put the ball out on the full with just over a minute to go deep in the Dogs forward line. He appeared to be chipping the Sherrin to Billy Gowers, only for it to skew off the side of his foot.

From there it took 46 seconds for the Kangaroos to go coast to coast and ice a thrilling contest.

“We should have won the game. But coulda, woulda, shoulda…it’s a disappointing outcome,” Beveridge lamented.

“The urgency under fatigue was disappointing. Obviously, we’ve reviewed that and hopefully the boys will be stewing over it a little bit and making a promise to each other that it won’t happen again if we’re in that situation.

“We walk away from that, and we’ve used the word deflated before, but that’s sucked the air out of us, no doubt.”

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Predictably, the vibe was the complete opposite in North Melbourne’s rooms.

As has become custom for the Kangaroos this year, the first thing the players do after singing their club song is filter into the locker room with loud techno music playing.

“It’s something we do every win,” Ziebell, slouched in his chair and barely hanging onto a Gatorade, told 3AW post-match.

“It probably came about because last year we didn’t get too many wins so we want to enjoy them when we can get them because in the AFL they are hard to get.

“I think it’s just something little we do for five minutes before we have to start thinking about next week. It’s good for the boys to be able to hang out for five minutes with no interruptions.

“It’s good fun.”

The Bulldogs have a six-day break before they are due to host Geelong on Friday night, while North Melbourne get the luxury of eight days to enjoy the victory ahead of its clash against Essendon at Etihad Stadium.