What They're Saying - The Bulldogs Media Thread - Part 4
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NBates
Brownlow Medallist
More boots in (pls delete if posted previously) - the funniest (sic) thing is he's criticised our best players....
WESTERN BULLDOGS (8th in 2022, currently 14th)
TO LIKE: The draw. Next three games are winnable
TO FIX: Gone from 5th for scoring to 17th. That speaks for itself.
This biggest issue for Luke Beveridge is to get their offence back in check. With the talent they’ve got and the recruits that they’ve brought in – looking at you, Rory Lobb – their decline in scoring is damning. Their score per inside 50 percentage was 8th last year. They’re now 18th.
For a team that generally turns chains of plays into scores you can only say they are void of confidence and are disconnected as a team at the moment.
The Dogs are “disconnected”. Picture: Getty Images
The Dogs have assets all over the ground but parts of their game have deserted them.
The biggest issue is their midfield turnovers.
Ed Richards, Adam Treloar, Marcus Bontempelli, Bailey Dale and Oskar Baker are all guilty of it. For their skill level they shouldn’t be making the amount of crucial errors they are — and where, which is making it nearly impossible to defend those turnovers.
They won’t ever get flow or rhythm on a game with players that continually give it back to opposition. It challenges their trust and belief in the team.
Until the Bulldogs tidy up their ball use coming out of defence and through that midfield zone, they’ll continue to struggle.
Taking care of the footy is a prerequisite to scoring.
Possession is 9/10ths of the law – in life and in footy.
WESTERN BULLDOGS (8th in 2022, currently 14th)
TO LIKE: The draw. Next three games are winnable
TO FIX: Gone from 5th for scoring to 17th. That speaks for itself.
This biggest issue for Luke Beveridge is to get their offence back in check. With the talent they’ve got and the recruits that they’ve brought in – looking at you, Rory Lobb – their decline in scoring is damning. Their score per inside 50 percentage was 8th last year. They’re now 18th.
For a team that generally turns chains of plays into scores you can only say they are void of confidence and are disconnected as a team at the moment.
The Dogs are “disconnected”. Picture: Getty Images
The Dogs have assets all over the ground but parts of their game have deserted them.
The biggest issue is their midfield turnovers.
Ed Richards, Adam Treloar, Marcus Bontempelli, Bailey Dale and Oskar Baker are all guilty of it. For their skill level they shouldn’t be making the amount of crucial errors they are — and where, which is making it nearly impossible to defend those turnovers.
They won’t ever get flow or rhythm on a game with players that continually give it back to opposition. It challenges their trust and belief in the team.
Until the Bulldogs tidy up their ball use coming out of defence and through that midfield zone, they’ll continue to struggle.
Taking care of the footy is a prerequisite to scoring.
Possession is 9/10ths of the law – in life and in footy.
dogwatch
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F
Fair call.More boots in (pls delete if posted previously) - the funniest (sic) thing is he's criticised our best players....
WESTERN BULLDOGS (8th in 2022, currently 14th)
TO LIKE: The draw. Next three games are winnable
TO FIX: Gone from 5th for scoring to 17th. That speaks for itself.
This biggest issue for Luke Beveridge is to get their offence back in check. With the talent they’ve got and the recruits that they’ve brought in – looking at you, Rory Lobb – their decline in scoring is damning. Their score per inside 50 percentage was 8th last year. They’re now 18th.
For a team that generally turns chains of plays into scores you can only say they are void of confidence and are disconnected as a team at the moment.
The Dogs are “disconnected”. Picture: Getty Images
The Dogs have assets all over the ground but parts of their game have deserted them.
The biggest issue is their midfield turnovers.
Ed Richards, Adam Treloar, Marcus Bontempelli, Bailey Dale and Oskar Baker are all guilty of it. For their skill level they shouldn’t be making the amount of crucial errors they are — and where, which is making it nearly impossible to defend those turnovers.
They won’t ever get flow or rhythm on a game with players that continually give it back to opposition. It challenges their trust and belief in the team.
Until the Bulldogs tidy up their ball use coming out of defence and through that midfield zone, they’ll continue to struggle.
Taking care of the footy is a prerequisite to scoring.
Possession is 9/10ths of the law – in life and in footy.
Dogs_R_Us
Space Traveller
Tbf, Bont's disposal lately has been ordinary. Also, still getting caught with the ball. (Maybe because of lack of optionsMore boots in (pls delete if posted previously) - the funniest (sic) thing is he's criticised our best players....
WESTERN BULLDOGS (8th in 2022, currently 14th)
TO LIKE: The draw. Next three games are winnable
TO FIX: Gone from 5th for scoring to 17th. That speaks for itself.
This biggest issue for Luke Beveridge is to get their offence back in check. With the talent they’ve got and the recruits that they’ve brought in – looking at you, Rory Lobb – their decline in scoring is damning. Their score per inside 50 percentage was 8th last year. They’re now 18th.
For a team that generally turns chains of plays into scores you can only say they are void of confidence and are disconnected as a team at the moment.
The Dogs are “disconnected”. Picture: Getty Images
The Dogs have assets all over the ground but parts of their game have deserted them.
The biggest issue is their midfield turnovers.
Ed Richards, Adam Treloar, Marcus Bontempelli, Bailey Dale and Oskar Baker are all guilty of it. For their skill level they shouldn’t be making the amount of crucial errors they are — and where, which is making it nearly impossible to defend those turnovers.
They won’t ever get flow or rhythm on a game with players that continually give it back to opposition. It challenges their trust and belief in the team.
Until the Bulldogs tidy up their ball use coming out of defence and through that midfield zone, they’ll continue to struggle.
Taking care of the footy is a prerequisite to scoring.
Possession is 9/10ths of the law – in life and in footy.
)
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Sadly, so true
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His Disposal Efficiancy over the last 2 weeks (in the driving rain and with astronomical amounts of clearances, mind you) has been 78% and 80%. It was also a season high 88% against the Saints.Tbf, Bont's disposal lately has been ordinary. Also, still getting caught with the ball. (Maybe because of lack of options
That is quite simply elite.
Dogs_R_Us
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It should be bloody 100%
NBates
Brownlow Medallist
anti Watson Wheeler / pro Gale piece with comments from an "industry source" (Caro?) about how is WW got it over Gale (first half of article not posted):
Scott Gullan
WHO WAS WINNING THE RACE AND HOW DO THE CANDIDATES LOOK?
A female legacy piece was Richard Goyder’s back-up plan which blew up in smoke spectacularly over last weekend’s Gather Round.
In his other roles as chairman of Woodside Petroleum and Qantas Airways, Goyder has actively promoted women and the thought of being the one to install the first female AFL CEO appealed.
Woodside’s chief executive is Meg O’Neill while two of the leading candidates to replace Alan Joyce at Qantas later this year are Qantas Loyalty chief executive Olivia Wirth and the airline’s chief financial officer Vanessa Hudson.
Goyder’s anointed ground-breaker in the AFL was the highly regarded and well-credentialed Kylie Watson-Wheeler, the Western Bulldogs president and CEO of the Walt Disney Company Australian and New Zealand arm.
Her name had been thrown up at the start of the search with a dozen others but the trail went cold as the focus turned elsewhere before she suddenly emerged last week as the chairman’s chosen one.
The AFL engaged New York based recruitment company Spencer Stuart and have paid them over $1 million to run the worldwide search to find McLachlan’s replacement.
First interviews happened in June last year with candidates sounded out including club chief executives Brendon Gale (Richmond), Tom Harley (Sydney), David Matthews (GWS Giants) and Simon Garlick (Fremantle).
The in-house candidates were the AFL’s General Counsel and General Manager Football Operations Andrew Dillon, Travis Auld (GM Finance, Clubs and Broadcast) and Kylie Rogers (GM Customer and Commercial).
Then for nine months nothing happened. The search ground to a halt for reasons no-one has explained.
Behind-the-scenes opinions were being sought from club presidents and other industry figures although the Herald Sun understands that neither the recruitment firm, nor Goyder, sought out Demetriou for his take which shocked many.
Kylie Rogers (left) and Andrew Dillon (right) at the AFL Brownlow. Picture: Getty Images
“It’s hard to believe Andrew Demetriou didn’t get a phone call, you’d think he would know what is required to be the CEO of the AFL,” an industry source said.
It wasn’t until March that a short list of candidates were summoned to Spencer Stuart’s Melbourne office at 101 Collins St.
By this stage Dillon was considered the front-runner from Gale before Goyder fell in love with Watson-Wheeler’s business nous which included which including being a senior executive at the Hallmark greeting cards business in the US.
The lack of excitement around Gale has been the biggest surprise of the process. There is a sense he was never “really in it” with his relationship with McLachlan and Goyder a sticking point.
“Brendon Gale came second in the process in 2014, one in which Gillon McLachlan was a shoe-in and the anointed one,” a club boss observed this week.
“Since 2014 he has won three premierships, got 100,000 members, put $20 million in the bank and set up external businesses for the Richmond Football Club yet he didn’t make the top two.
“And don’t forget he’s a lawyer, played 250 games and was president of the Players’ Association. I mean how is Kylie Watson-Wheeler ahead of Brendon Gale?”
When the Herald Sun exclusively revealed that Watson-Wheeler had cancelled a speaking engagement in Melbourne last week to be a late addition to the AFL’s lavish Gather Round dinner at the prestigious Magill Estate winery in South Australia, she was quickly wound into favourite.
But Goyder’s plan hit a snag at the Commission table where it’s believed he was rolled by a vote of 4-3 to make Watson-Wheeler the new CEO.
If the clubs were frustrated before, they left Adelaide steaming, particularly after McLachlan engineered a three-year deal, worth around $60 million, for Gather Round to remain in Adelaide.
That was a decision many believed should have been one for the incoming CEO, not the one who was allegedly in his final days.
Kylie Watson-Wheeler appeared to be favourite to win the role at one point of Gather Round. Picture: Richard Dobson
Watson-Wheeler left the City of Churches embarrassed and flew overseas on a holiday with her children. She never wanted her name to come out given her Disney commitments and like the assistant coach who keeps missing out on the senior job, it’s not a great look.
With Auld linked to the vacant Australian Grand Prix gig, the sense by the end of the highly successful football feast in Adelaide was that it was back to Dillon even though Goyder had apparently been concerned he didn’t want it enough.
The reason the clubs love Dillon is his no-fuss personality, he’s very good at his job and does it without the fanfare which clearly the AFL chair would like to see more of.
If it does fall Dillon’s way – he has been at the AFL for 22 years – how must he be feeling?
He has been in front of the Commission’s eyes the whole time and they’ve spent most of the past 12 months trying to find reasons not to appoint him.
“They have humiliated the candidates,” one experienced AFL figure said. “How does anyone go into the job feeling they have got a really solid imprimatur to be able to create the change they want to create with this environment of uncertainty which has been created by an inept Commission.
“At the end of it all they will appoint Andrew Dillon, they could have picked him out five years ago and prepared him. So much for needing time for the worldwide search, they’ll go with the man who has been in their backyard the whole time.
“Seriously, we are getting laughed at.”
Inside the AFL’s CEO search farce: What has happened since Gillon McLachlan announced his departure from the top job
The AFL is under fire after failing to find a new CEO to replace Gillon McLachlan over a year since he announced he was leaving. An experienced figure has described the Commission as ‘inept’.Scott Gullan
WHO WAS WINNING THE RACE AND HOW DO THE CANDIDATES LOOK?
A female legacy piece was Richard Goyder’s back-up plan which blew up in smoke spectacularly over last weekend’s Gather Round.
In his other roles as chairman of Woodside Petroleum and Qantas Airways, Goyder has actively promoted women and the thought of being the one to install the first female AFL CEO appealed.
Woodside’s chief executive is Meg O’Neill while two of the leading candidates to replace Alan Joyce at Qantas later this year are Qantas Loyalty chief executive Olivia Wirth and the airline’s chief financial officer Vanessa Hudson.
Goyder’s anointed ground-breaker in the AFL was the highly regarded and well-credentialed Kylie Watson-Wheeler, the Western Bulldogs president and CEO of the Walt Disney Company Australian and New Zealand arm.
Her name had been thrown up at the start of the search with a dozen others but the trail went cold as the focus turned elsewhere before she suddenly emerged last week as the chairman’s chosen one.
The AFL engaged New York based recruitment company Spencer Stuart and have paid them over $1 million to run the worldwide search to find McLachlan’s replacement.
First interviews happened in June last year with candidates sounded out including club chief executives Brendon Gale (Richmond), Tom Harley (Sydney), David Matthews (GWS Giants) and Simon Garlick (Fremantle).
The in-house candidates were the AFL’s General Counsel and General Manager Football Operations Andrew Dillon, Travis Auld (GM Finance, Clubs and Broadcast) and Kylie Rogers (GM Customer and Commercial).
Then for nine months nothing happened. The search ground to a halt for reasons no-one has explained.
Behind-the-scenes opinions were being sought from club presidents and other industry figures although the Herald Sun understands that neither the recruitment firm, nor Goyder, sought out Demetriou for his take which shocked many.
Kylie Rogers (left) and Andrew Dillon (right) at the AFL Brownlow. Picture: Getty Images
“It’s hard to believe Andrew Demetriou didn’t get a phone call, you’d think he would know what is required to be the CEO of the AFL,” an industry source said.
It wasn’t until March that a short list of candidates were summoned to Spencer Stuart’s Melbourne office at 101 Collins St.
By this stage Dillon was considered the front-runner from Gale before Goyder fell in love with Watson-Wheeler’s business nous which included which including being a senior executive at the Hallmark greeting cards business in the US.
The lack of excitement around Gale has been the biggest surprise of the process. There is a sense he was never “really in it” with his relationship with McLachlan and Goyder a sticking point.
“Brendon Gale came second in the process in 2014, one in which Gillon McLachlan was a shoe-in and the anointed one,” a club boss observed this week.
“Since 2014 he has won three premierships, got 100,000 members, put $20 million in the bank and set up external businesses for the Richmond Football Club yet he didn’t make the top two.
“And don’t forget he’s a lawyer, played 250 games and was president of the Players’ Association. I mean how is Kylie Watson-Wheeler ahead of Brendon Gale?”
When the Herald Sun exclusively revealed that Watson-Wheeler had cancelled a speaking engagement in Melbourne last week to be a late addition to the AFL’s lavish Gather Round dinner at the prestigious Magill Estate winery in South Australia, she was quickly wound into favourite.
But Goyder’s plan hit a snag at the Commission table where it’s believed he was rolled by a vote of 4-3 to make Watson-Wheeler the new CEO.
If the clubs were frustrated before, they left Adelaide steaming, particularly after McLachlan engineered a three-year deal, worth around $60 million, for Gather Round to remain in Adelaide.
That was a decision many believed should have been one for the incoming CEO, not the one who was allegedly in his final days.
Kylie Watson-Wheeler appeared to be favourite to win the role at one point of Gather Round. Picture: Richard Dobson
Watson-Wheeler left the City of Churches embarrassed and flew overseas on a holiday with her children. She never wanted her name to come out given her Disney commitments and like the assistant coach who keeps missing out on the senior job, it’s not a great look.
With Auld linked to the vacant Australian Grand Prix gig, the sense by the end of the highly successful football feast in Adelaide was that it was back to Dillon even though Goyder had apparently been concerned he didn’t want it enough.
The reason the clubs love Dillon is his no-fuss personality, he’s very good at his job and does it without the fanfare which clearly the AFL chair would like to see more of.
If it does fall Dillon’s way – he has been at the AFL for 22 years – how must he be feeling?
He has been in front of the Commission’s eyes the whole time and they’ve spent most of the past 12 months trying to find reasons not to appoint him.
“They have humiliated the candidates,” one experienced AFL figure said. “How does anyone go into the job feeling they have got a really solid imprimatur to be able to create the change they want to create with this environment of uncertainty which has been created by an inept Commission.
“At the end of it all they will appoint Andrew Dillon, they could have picked him out five years ago and prepared him. So much for needing time for the worldwide search, they’ll go with the man who has been in their backyard the whole time.
“Seriously, we are getting laughed at.”
NBates
Brownlow Medallist
AFL 2023: Injury and MRO news from Round 6
The Bulldogs notched an important win in the west, but two key players — including a midfield star — are at risk of missing their next clash.Brad Elborough
April 22, 2023 - 7:45AM
News Corp Australia Sports Newsroom
The Western Bulldogs will monitor two senior players while they plan celebrations for captain Marcus Bontempelli’s 200th game milestone in Round 7.
Both Tom Liberatore and Jason Johannisen copped head knocks in the final quarter of the Dogs 49-point win over Fremantle in Perth on Friday night.
Coach Luke Beveridge said after the game that neither player was officially assessed for concussion at the time, as the game was almost over when they made their way to the bench.
Liberatore, especially, was outstanding in the win, with 25 disposals, seven tackles and seven clearances.
Pending scan results, the pair are at risk of missing their clash with the Hawks at Marvel Stadium next Saturday.
The Dogs will celebrate their third milestone game in as many weeks, with Liberatore playing his 200th game in the loss to Port Adelaide during Gather Round, then Toby McLean’s 100th in the win against the Dockers.
Tom Liberatore suffered a head knock late in the match. Picture: Paul Kane/Getty Images)
But Beveridge said next week the club will “celebrate a diamond” in Bontempelli.
“So, we’ve had some significant milestones for boys who have given unbelievable contributions for their football clubs,” he said.
“It’s a little bit of emotion over the last couple of weeks. There’ll be more as we go into the Hawthorn game.
“Marcus is having a good year. Definitely.
“I think our midfield really pulled it together tonight and Marcus has been an influential player, week to week.
“But he’s enormous. Again, I felt that tonight and what he did out there.
“We’ll celebrate a diamond. The number four, he’s worn unbelievably well and hopefully we can get a win for him next week.”
Bontempelli goes into his milestone game in terrific form. In the past three weeks he has averaged 26 touches (16 contested), almost 10 tackles, six inside 50 entries and more than 10 clearances.
He’s also kicked goals in the past two outings, including two against Freo.
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Wow. Caro giving it to KWW and the guy who favours her appointment (Goyder) on the radio. I think my suspicions were correct. Age reporter feeding info as a "reliable source" to H Scum to further a negative report & get B Gale in as president to help her own club. Said KWW was barely seen at any board meetings and unsighted last week (then went on to say KWW was ill) and said Goyder was the worst Chairman of the AFL ever.
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Rolling Stones had a line in Jumping Jack Flash that describes her to a tee (Wilson), but I won't post it as it probably crosses a line, and is a touch too personal, and probably misogynistic.
Suffice to say her 'journalism' went down the toilet a long, long time ago. And she's always struggled to hide her partisanship, even while accusing people like McGuire of the same thing.
Been nothing but an ambulance chaser for years. Much like a fair swathe of fellow AFL 'journalists' though, so not alone.
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Sam Landsberger’s likes and dislikes from round 6
The Bulldogs have produced many greats, and none bigger than EJ Whitten. But Marcus Bontempelli is making a case to be better than all of them. See all the hits and misses of round 6 so far.Sam Landsberger
April 23, 2023 - 6:37PM
There’s been some big wins over finalists from last season and some contentious incidents that will be debated across the weekend.
LIKES
IS BONT BEST BULLDOG EVER?
Marcus Bontempelli will celebrate the greatest opening 200 games of a career his club has seen next week. Bontempelli’s leadership to drag the Bulldogs from 0-2 to 3-3 should make him the clubhouse leader to be All-Australian captain and it wouldn’t surprise if he’s polled 10 Brownlow Medal votes in that four-game stretch. This is Bont’s past month: 66 contested possessions 39 clearances, 35 tackles and four goals. He is the No.1 player in the game right now and he might’ve already exceeded so many club legends from the past 30 years, such as Chris Grant, Scott West and Brad Johnson. The question worth asking is whether he will also eclipse EJ Whitten, the biggest figure in club history. Bontempelli is on track to equal Mr Football’s five best-and-fairests this year and at 27 he might play another 150 games. It’s worth noting that in 2016 Bontempelli did not poll a Norm Smith Medal vote – but if you watch the replay there’s a strong argument to say he was the best player that day. Every single one of his possessions hit the target under the ferocious pressure of a grand final. Bontempelli also had one hand on the medal in the 2021 decider when he threw his arms out in celebration after booting the Bulldogs 19 points clear during the third quarter, before Melbourne’s avalanche of goals sank his side. The Brownlow bridesmaid in 2021, if Bontempelli can take home Charlie and skipper the Dogs to another flag before his time is up there’s little doubt he will be the greatest Dog of all time. Coach Luke Beveridge, who always seems to find the perfect words, called Bont a “diamond”. Fully fit this year, Bont is sparkling again.Marcus Bontempelli was dominant against the Dockers. Picture: Will Russell/AFL Photos via Getty Images
IS THE MIDFIELD BETTER WITHOUT BAILEY SMITH?
Bailey Smith’s calf injury has forced Adam Treloar and Jack Macrae to spend more time in the centre and the midfield has seemingly struck a better balance. Early in the season Macrae was pushed to half-forward – in rounds 2-3 he attended eight and nine centre bounces – but on Friday night he was at 16 and won a career-high 14 clearances, which equalled Tom Liberatore’s club record. Treloar attended a season-high 27 centre bounces on Friday night and has had 35 disposals in each of the two games Smith has missed. The Dogs got 10 goals from their midfielders alone, matching Fremantle’s tally, while Smith will likely replace Liberatore (concussion) next week. The defence has clicked, too, with Jason Johannisen’s forward experiment ending and his ball use and bounce off halfback returning to his 2016 vintage, averaging 24 disposals in the past three weeks. As JJ’s partner Logan Shine told Roaming Brian: “He didn’t win a Norm Smith playing forward, did he?”
DISLIKES
Rory Lobb was targeted by his former teammates. Picture: Paul Kane/Getty Images
LAUGHABLE LOBB ANTICS
In last year’s elimination final Luke Beveridge stood on the boundary screaming at his players for engaging in a wrestle when the ball was in play as Fremantle surged forward. On Friday night the Dockers tangled with Rory Lobb before the bounce and then when Jamarra Ugle-Hagan’s set-shot sprayed wide they were again tussling with Lobb and out of position, helping Adam Treloar snap a goal. What were they thinking? Coach Justin Longmuir swatted away talk that Lobb was a distraction because he said that would be giving his players an out. Sadly, he was right. Fremantle, or ‘Freezemantle’ with ball in hand, such is the lack of speed they play with, even had the crowd frustrated. They went slow and long and got trapped in their back half. Friday night was a territory domination rarely seen as the frenetic Dogs laid 20 tackles in their forward 50 and scored 92 points from forward-half chains, up from their season average of 38. Longmuir said in the fourth quarter the Dockers pulled a forward back from the stoppage to even up numbers to try and win the game, and the Dogs kicked four goals from stoppages in the last quarter and won contested ball by 19. The Dockers have lost contested ball in every quarter and they are yet to win a first quarter. So back to Lobb … if you haven’t won a first quarter this season, shouldn’t that be your focus at the first bounce, rather than pushing and shoving a bloke who spent four so-so years at your club?
BARRETT: Through sickness and health, Bont's legend continues to grow
Playing on through injury and illness throughout 2022, and his explosive start to 2023, has re-affirmed Marcus Bontempelli's status as a modern great, writes Damian BarrettTHE all-time great players never make excuses.
Marcus Bontempelli could have hidden behind injuries and illness in 2022. Instead he toiled through all but one of the Western Bulldogs' 23 matches. Lingering sickness as well as a damaged foot and adductor problem curtailed his normally extraordinary standards. He was merely an OK contributor in a season that ended in an elimination final. He 'only' finished fourth in the best-and-fairest, a placing that would be a source of pride for mere mortals but one that was Bontempelli's lowest in that award since his debut 2014 season.
But Bontempelli is back to his best in 2023. Fully fit, he has resumed being brilliant weekly, with round six's performance against Fremantle in Perth being near-perfect. His cleanness with disposal, even with some handballs that had maximum degrees of difficulty attached, destroyed the Dockers.
At 0-2 after losses to Melbourne and St Kilda, the Bulldogs' season was looming as worrying. Bontempelli has led the way out of the danger zone, steering his side to wins against Brisbane and Richmond, a more than acceptable loss against Port Adelaide in round five before his commanding output last Friday night.
I argued in this column in May, 2021 that Bontempelli had already established himself as the greatest modern era Bulldog, and possibly the club's best-ever. And while his 2022 season was his least effective since he was an 18-year-old straight out of school starting out in the AFL world, it enhanced his greatness because of the adversity he endured.
There will be Bulldogs' diehards who will never allow anyone to be judged greater than Ted Whitten. Chris Grant, Doug Hawkins, Brad Johnson, John Schultz and Gary Dempsey are other Dogs' greats in this conversation.
In 2014, Bontempelli's first year, he was somehow overlooked as the official Rising Star. In the eight seasons since, his finishes in the best-and-fairest award have been, in order, third, first, first, third, first, second, first, fourth. Add to that All-Australian blazers in 2016, 2019, 2020 and 2021.
Winning a best-and-fairest in his third year in a premiership-winning season as a 20-year-old was an extraordinary achievement. Also, I keep saying to those interested in revisiting that year's Grand Final – please take note of Bontempelli's flawless 22-disposal, six-clearance, seven-tackle, nine-hitout performance. This is taking nothing away from the deeds that day of Jason Johannisen, Tom Boyd and Liam Picken, but The Bont would have been a worthy Norm Smith Medallist.
On that biggest of stages in that win against Sydney, he was two months short of turning 21. He actually captained the Bulldogs that year, when Bob Murphy and Easton Wood missed with injury, becoming the youngest ever in the VFL/AFL to carry such status, and has been permanent Bulldogs skipper since the start of 2020.
He has been incredibly durable, too. He played 16 matches in his first season and has missed just six since the start of 2015, and has regularly played hurt. Game No.200 arrives next Saturday against Hawthorn at Marvel Stadium.
To me, Bontempelli deserves to win a Brownlow Medal. He very nearly did in 2021, polling 33 votes against Ollie Wines’ 36.
Fully fit again in 2023, he's poised beautifully to do so. Not that he would care too much, given he has only ever focused on his team.
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Don't tell me Barrett has returned to his journalistic roots, rather than the voluminous drivel he produces these days?
Credit where it's due though - good piece. Bet it would be different if it was Beveridge's 200th coaching game!
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Let’s not dwell on negativity - that article is beautiful 
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‘Did it all night’: Return of Dogs’ cheeky ‘handball club’ exposed
‘Did it all night’: Return of Dogs’ cheeky ‘handball club’ exposed
www.foxsports.com.au
Standard for us to get called out on it, I’m not sure if these guys have watched much footy this year but this is literally ripe across every single game. I am 100% sure I could get 10 examples from every single game this season if I wanted to.
Probably more noticeable for us on Friday night because our midfield had the ball pretty much all night but still, everyone is doing it and not getting pinged
Dogs_r_barking
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‘Did it all night’: Return of Dogs’ cheeky ‘handball club’ exposed
‘Did it all night’: Return of Dogs’ cheeky ‘handball club’ exposed
Standard for us to get called out on it, I’m not sure if these guys have watched much footy this year but this is literally ripe across every single game. I am 100% sure I could get 10 examples from every single game this season if I wanted to.
Probably more noticeable for us on Friday night because our midfield had the ball pretty much all night but still, everyone is doing it and not getting pinged
Only ever the dogs ... wahhhhhhh‘Did it all night’: Return of Dogs’ cheeky ‘handball club’ exposed
‘Did it all night’: Return of Dogs’ cheeky ‘handball club’ exposed
Standard for us to get called out on it, I’m not sure if these guys have watched much footy this year but this is literally ripe across every single game. I am 100% sure I could get 10 examples from every single game this season if I wanted to.
Probably more noticeable for us on Friday night because our midfield had the ball pretty much all night but still, everyone is doing it and not getting pinged
