Out-of-form Western Bulldogs forward Stewart Crameri has been sent back to the VFL to "break the cycle" of his below-par performances according to coach Luke Beveridge.
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Crameri is a rare commodity –a Bulldog who has not improved in Beveridge's first year at the helm.
After kicking 37 goals in 2014 – his maiden season at the Whitten Oval after being traded from Essendon – Crameri's output has dipped to 10 goals from nine games so far in 2015, although his disposals per game have increased from 13.7 to 16.2 due to greater time in the midfield.
Adductor and ankle injuries have plagued him in recent weeks, but despite now being fit, Beveridge decided against recalling the 26-year-old for the game against St KIlda on Saturday night, instead giving Crameri a spell at Footscray.
"Stewie hasn't been at his best this year," Beveridge said on Friday.
"He had a great game against Sydney when we beat them, but he'd be the first to admit that he needs to get back to that consistency of performance that he's had in his past".
"This probably breaks the cycle a little bit for him. He'll go back to VFL level and find that. I'm sure he'll be back up very shortly."
Beveridge explained that moving Crameri up the ground was done to expand the former Bomber's repertoire, and that he would spend the bulk of the Sunday's match against Sandringham playing in the midfield.
The AFL fixture's idiosyncrasies mean the Dogs take on the Saints only 49 days after squandering a 55-point lead against them in round six.
Beveridge said he was not perturbed by playing St Kilda twice in such short time.
"It's probably a good thing that we get another chance to play against the Saints since they beat us last time. It's a chance to get our own back."
Beveridge said that the manner of their earlier loss to St Kilda had not affected team preparation, and that regardless of the opposition, he was regularly fearful of relinquishing a buffer, including as recently as last week against the Brisbane Lions.
"Whoever you're playing, you're always mindful that there's going to be a momentum shift and that's our job to stay on top of it."
"It's always at the back our mind, but we haven't really discussed it. We've actually got a third of our team that's different to last time, and the Saints have got four or five different players so that probably counts for something as far as the performance goes."
Veteran Dale Morris returns to the side this week after a lengthy absence with a pectoral injury. Beveridge flagged the possibility the defender could drift forward after succeeding in that role last weekend in the VFL.
