bornadog
02-04-2014, 10:09 AM
MICHAEL WARNER
HERALD SUN
APRIL 01, 2014 9:00PM
http://resources3.news.com.au/images/2014/04/01/1226871/287871-fd442974-b963-11e3-8a33-c23c348170ff.jpg
Marcus Bontempelli runs with the ball away from Mitch Jensen during the Western Bulldogs Intra-Club at Whitten Oval on March 13. Source: Getty Images
WESTERN Bulldogs young gun Marcus Bontempelli could debut in Saturday’s clash with Richmond at Etihad Stadium.
Bontempelli — a 192cm midfielder taken at pick 4 in last year’s national draft — is a cousin of North Melbourne’s Nick Dal Santo and impressed for the Footscray VFL side on the weekend.Fellow draftee Mitch Honeychurch (pick 60) and midfielder Nathan Hrovat are also knocking on the door for senior selection.3
The rebuilding Dogs were smashed by West Coast in stifling heat at Subiaco in Round 1 and threw away a chance to upset North Melbourne at Etihad on Sunday.But Bulldogs president Peter Gordon urged fans to keep the faith under third-year coach Brendan McCartney.
http://content5.video.news.com.au/NDM_CP_-_Fox_Sports/259/178/_HOLD_2013_DRAFT_PICKME_BONTEMPELLI.jpg
Northern Knights midfielder Marcus Bontempelli will hope his brilliant finish to the 2013 AFL season will be rewarded
“We’d much prefer to be two and zip, but there’s a trajectory to these things,” Gordon told the Herald Sun.“I don’t think there are many tougher starts to an AFL season than going over to play the Eagles in 36 degree heat, but the fact of the matter is the draw serves up highs and lows for every team.“I’m not at all disturbed by the fact that we’ve lost our first two — we just need to keep a laser-like focus on the week ahead.”The Bulldogs’ next four games include Richmond, Greater Western Sydney in Canberra, struggling Carlton at Etihad and winless Adelaide at Etihad.“We’ve had our challenges with the Tigers, frankly, over the last two or three years ... the results have not been close, but neither were our last couple of results against North Melbourne and we were in that game until well into the last quarter,” Gordon said.“I expect that we will show that sort of improvement and that sort of resilience this weekend and throughout the season.“I doubt that on and off the field there has been a more exciting and optimistic period for the Bulldogs in my memory.
We are building as a club off the field, our membership numbers are good (25,896), our corporate support is good, our engagement with the community is good ...”Gordon said the club’s debt had been reduced by $1 million (to less than $10 million) and discussions over equalisation and revenue sharing with the AFL were close to completion.
On the club’s perceived lack of goalkicking potency, the president said: “I’m looking forward to seeing a forward line that has got two, three, four or five of Jake Stringer, Jarrad Grant, Stuart Crameri, Tom Campbell and Liam Jones going around.“I think that Liam has had a pretty tough rap over the last few years taking the best backman of the other side.
We are in a position to stretch their best two or three best backmen together with the quality of Luke Dalhuas and Clay Smith coming back into the side and nipping around that forward line.
“I’m really excited by that and I think over the next 10 years guys like Luke Dalhaus and Tom Liberatore will establish themselves as elite players in the competition.“We’re not the biggest club in the AFL, we’re not the richest club in the AFL but the one thing you’ll know about is we’ll always fight and we’ll always keep trying.“And that’s what you’ll see this weekend.”
HERALD SUN
APRIL 01, 2014 9:00PM
http://resources3.news.com.au/images/2014/04/01/1226871/287871-fd442974-b963-11e3-8a33-c23c348170ff.jpg
Marcus Bontempelli runs with the ball away from Mitch Jensen during the Western Bulldogs Intra-Club at Whitten Oval on March 13. Source: Getty Images
WESTERN Bulldogs young gun Marcus Bontempelli could debut in Saturday’s clash with Richmond at Etihad Stadium.
Bontempelli — a 192cm midfielder taken at pick 4 in last year’s national draft — is a cousin of North Melbourne’s Nick Dal Santo and impressed for the Footscray VFL side on the weekend.Fellow draftee Mitch Honeychurch (pick 60) and midfielder Nathan Hrovat are also knocking on the door for senior selection.3
The rebuilding Dogs were smashed by West Coast in stifling heat at Subiaco in Round 1 and threw away a chance to upset North Melbourne at Etihad on Sunday.But Bulldogs president Peter Gordon urged fans to keep the faith under third-year coach Brendan McCartney.
http://content5.video.news.com.au/NDM_CP_-_Fox_Sports/259/178/_HOLD_2013_DRAFT_PICKME_BONTEMPELLI.jpg
Northern Knights midfielder Marcus Bontempelli will hope his brilliant finish to the 2013 AFL season will be rewarded
“We’d much prefer to be two and zip, but there’s a trajectory to these things,” Gordon told the Herald Sun.“I don’t think there are many tougher starts to an AFL season than going over to play the Eagles in 36 degree heat, but the fact of the matter is the draw serves up highs and lows for every team.“I’m not at all disturbed by the fact that we’ve lost our first two — we just need to keep a laser-like focus on the week ahead.”The Bulldogs’ next four games include Richmond, Greater Western Sydney in Canberra, struggling Carlton at Etihad and winless Adelaide at Etihad.“We’ve had our challenges with the Tigers, frankly, over the last two or three years ... the results have not been close, but neither were our last couple of results against North Melbourne and we were in that game until well into the last quarter,” Gordon said.“I expect that we will show that sort of improvement and that sort of resilience this weekend and throughout the season.“I doubt that on and off the field there has been a more exciting and optimistic period for the Bulldogs in my memory.
We are building as a club off the field, our membership numbers are good (25,896), our corporate support is good, our engagement with the community is good ...”Gordon said the club’s debt had been reduced by $1 million (to less than $10 million) and discussions over equalisation and revenue sharing with the AFL were close to completion.
On the club’s perceived lack of goalkicking potency, the president said: “I’m looking forward to seeing a forward line that has got two, three, four or five of Jake Stringer, Jarrad Grant, Stuart Crameri, Tom Campbell and Liam Jones going around.“I think that Liam has had a pretty tough rap over the last few years taking the best backman of the other side.
We are in a position to stretch their best two or three best backmen together with the quality of Luke Dalhuas and Clay Smith coming back into the side and nipping around that forward line.
“I’m really excited by that and I think over the next 10 years guys like Luke Dalhaus and Tom Liberatore will establish themselves as elite players in the competition.“We’re not the biggest club in the AFL, we’re not the richest club in the AFL but the one thing you’ll know about is we’ll always fight and we’ll always keep trying.“And that’s what you’ll see this weekend.”