What They're Saying - The Bulldogs Media Thread - Part 4

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RedWhite&Blue said:
Very true.
Whenever you get a whinging Swans supporter saying that we were gifted the 2016 Flag by the umpires ask them to give you specific examples...
To a man they will cough and splutter "but what about the free kick count...?!"...
when it comes to specifics they are blank.
They might throw up the incident where Hannerbury did his knee but even that one was fair - Wood was on his hands and feet when he hit Hannerbury in his upper thigh. Never hit him low and was play on every day of the week.
They have absolutely nothing to hang their hat on when it comes to free kicks... apart from the count that is
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I find this one easy. If it ever comes up, ask about Xavier Richards, Tippet, Papley or Rohan’s pathetic performances on the day and if they deserved to be premiership players. If not for Kennedy (superstar), they’ve lost that game by 6+ goals.
 
It is odd, but I think most good clubs have one skill that they are really good at not giving away free kicks for.

For a few clubs, one of which is us, it's incorrect disposal. We do disguise throws a lot, and we also love to dispossess the ball when threatened by a tackler. Other clubs get away with it too.

Richmond get away with an incredible amount of blocking in the marking contest. If you watch Lynch and Riewoldt in the contests that they share, one of them almost never plays the ball. It's almost never called.

For Geelong, they manage to disguise holding at the contest better than anyone else. They've always got their hands on an opponent and most of the time if you look closer they've got the jumper in their hand. It's just enough to delay an opponent's attack on the ball and again, they consistently get away with it.

Anyway, the point is that I agree every decent club has a narrative about the umpiring treatment they get, and it's because they excel at masking that particular thing.
 
Dogs_R_Us said:
Typical, that ALL teams do it, and have been doing it for years, but suddenly, the Bulldogs are doing it and that warrants a headline. :mad:
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Last year it was free kick Bulldogs, they get too many frees, this year we don't get frees and less than two weeks ago the media are bagging us for being the worst team in the league for moving the ball...we move the ball quickly after that, and all of a sudden that salty shit head Stk flog Montagna is highlighting us for throws...it's always us... Oliver won a Brownlow and a flag, Wines won a Brownlow.....it just makes you wonder if there is an agenda against us
 

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grassman75 said:
Last year it was free kick Bulldogs, they get too many frees, this year we don't get frees and less than two weeks ago the media are bagging us for being the worst team in the league for moving the ball...we move the ball quickly after that, and all of a sudden that salty s**t head Stk flog Montagna is highlighting us for throws...it's always us... Oliver won a Brownlow and a flag, Wines won a Brownlow.....it just makes you wonder if there is an agenda against us
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I honestly believe that the reason Swan supporters go so hard about the free kick count in the GF is because they are embarrassed they lost to the old Western Bulldogs, a team they looked down on. I ventured onto their board before the GF and the patronising dismissive tone from their supporters about us really stood out.

The same with the old VFL clubs and their media representatives, it is great the Bulldogs won, now get back where you belong and let the MCG tenants win premierships or in Saints case a traditional VFL team. Commentators like BT, Lyons, Wilson et al. Wilson in particular, she made a comment once about us, and I paraphrase, “the worse thing that happened was the Bulldogs winning the premiership”, meaning we were becoming upstarts, I think when Gordon was arguing for greater equality.
 
bullish23 said:
I’m usually impartial to these things and quite like Montanga. But that was an out and out hit job.
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Because he's worried his beloved Saints will fall in a hole again and get rolled by the Dog juggernaut throwing our way to the 2023 flag while they rot in eternal misery
 
Dogs_r_barking said:
I honestly believe that the reason Swan supporters go so hard about the free kick count in the GF is because they are embarrassed they lost to the old Western Bulldogs, a team they looked down on. I ventured onto their board before the GF and the patronising dismissive tone from their supporters about us really stood out.

The same with the old VFL clubs and their media representatives, it is great the Bulldogs won, now get back where you belong and let the MCG tenants win premierships or in Saints case a traditional VFL team. Commentators like BT, Lyons, Wilson et al. Wilson in particular, she made a comment once about us, and I paraphrase, “the worse thing that happened was the Bulldogs winning the premiership”, meaning we were becoming upstarts, I think when Gordon was arguing for greater equality.
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You are right about the "big 4"

Their supporters still bang on about the 16 flags they won back when there were 4 teams in the comp and then when paper bags were prevalent like they mean anything in today's iteration of the game
 
WESTERN Bulldogs star Bailey Smith is poised to return from injury against Hawthorn to offset the loss of fellow midfielder Tom Liberatore through concussion.

Liberatore will miss at least one match after he was concussed in a collision with Fremantle's Andrew Brayshaw during the Bulldogs' 49-point win in Perth last week.Fellow gun Smith looms as a capable replacement, having resumed training with the Dogs' main group as he nears a comeback from a calf injury that has kept him out of action for two weeks.
Smith was involved in a lengthy discussion with coach Luke Beveridge after Wednesday's training session.

Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli said his teammate is refreshed after a stint on the sidelines and excited about a possible comeback against the Hawks at Marvel Stadium on Saturday.
"Missing Tom with a concussion is a downer but to bring someone in who is going to be really physical and really want to impose himself on the game pretty quickly is a big positive," Bontempelli said.

"He was moving pretty well today so he'll definitely be right in the frame if things all go well."

The Bulldogs are hopeful Liberatore will be available to return in the round eight meeting with GWS in Canberra.

"At this stage I've seen him do a few things (at training) and I think that means he's progressing quite well," Bontempelli said.
"It takes time to fully assess and get over the (concussion) symptoms but from what I can tell from speaking to him so far, it's in a pretty good space.

"We'll let it play out as the days unfold but hopefully get him back as soon as (possible)."

Meanwhile, Bontempelli has credited his increased focus on grunt work in the absence of Josh Dunkley this season as crucial to his outstanding form.

Bontempelli, who will reach the 200-game milestone on Saturday, has rocketed into Brownlow Medal contention after a self-confessed "down year" last season.

The 27-year-old is widely rated as second-favourite to claim the game's highest individual honour, behind Collingwood young gun Nick Daicos, having finished runner-up to Ollie Wines in 2021.
Bontempelli said the move of Bulldogs best and fairest winner Dunkley to Brisbane during last year's trade period had prompted a shift in his own mindset over summer.

The Dogs have looked to collectively cover the hole left by Dunkley, and Bontempelli has stepped up - averaging career-best numbers in contested possessions (14.5) and clearances (8.5).

"Losing Josh was a big talking point and he was a very combative inside player for us," Bontempelli told reporters on Wednesday.
"He took care of that, with Tom (Liberatore) and others, at different points when we've been really dominant.

"I've looked to fill that gap and explore that part of my game, and still let the front-half game be a key factor.

"You're always looking for new strings to add to your bow and that's been me so far this year."
Further individual accolades are well within reach for Bontempelli - a four-times All-Australian and Bulldogs best and fairest winner - but it is team success that drives him.

He was part of the breakthrough 2016 flag-winning Western Bulldogs side in his third year at the club and was captain of the team belted by Melbourne in the 2021 decider.

"When you consider the club's history, it would be amazing to add another cup to the trophy cabinet for the Footscray Football Club and the Western Bulldogs now," Bontempelli said.
"I know with game 200 this week there's less (of my career) to go than I've committed.

"You're really trying to make the most of every game and take it in as much as you can, then think about what you can leave behind in the back half of your career."

Critics wrote off the Bulldogs' chances this season after a 0-2 start but Luke Beveridge's men have steadied the ship with wins in three of their past four games.
Bontempelli put the turnaround down to a renewed focus on simple aspects of the game, such as contest work, pressure and defence.

"We've tried to strip everything back and go to those things that made us a really good team, then let the other parts of our game evolve," Bontempelli said.

"There's a lot out there for us to do better and improve upon off the back of those key elements."
 

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"We've tried to strip everything back and go to those things that made us a really good team, then let the other parts of our game evolve," Bontempelli said.

This is good to hear. There have been times where the way we go about it seems like a machine with a thousand cogs and if one’s not greased properly the whole thing can grind to a halt.
 
We should have a Bont thread for his 200th - anyway, I'll pass this on here....

The Bont Years



In 2014 a raw and gawky teenager named Marcus Bontempelli was a guest on one of the footy programs. He'd played a handful of immensely promising games.



Presenter Mark Robinson leaned in towards him, with a fake, oily air of intimacy and confidentiality designed to trip the young bloke up. What did you REALLY think when you were drafted by the sad and sorry Bulldogs? (You can trust me, just share with Robbo the truth?) Was your first thought : 'Oh no!'



Not for the first time, I nearly succumbed to the temptation to throw something at Mark Robinson's foolish face on the TV. But, looking slightly affronted, our new number four politely rebuffed Robinson's condescending assumption. With an air of composure, he spoke about the good things at the club and his enjoyment at being there.



This was the first, but by no means the last, time I would feel inordinately proud of Marcus, as I still quaintly called him. (For like a bashful suitor I felt it was too early to call him by a nickname. And I was maintaining an increasingly fragile posture, claiming that the legendary Daniel Cross would be, forever and always, my favourite player to wear number four).



Marcus had played in five losses - including a 45-point loss to Gold Coast, if you're wondering just how well our team was travelling - before he got the chance to sing the club song. Somehow his first victory was one of those that have somehow penetrated through the fog of too many seasons, too many matches, that is the fate of the long-term supporter.



It was June 2014. We were at rock bottom. (Again). We were a laughing stock. (Again). A smarmy article had been written that day questioning our very identity and calling us..."irrelevant". We were about to play a Collingwood team who were a premiership contender; it was the dead of winter. Even the Tragician didn't want to head to the match.



But if the fans couldn't show stoicism and grit, why should the players, I asked somewhat rhetorically, heading gloomily - yet sanctimoniously - out the door.



The blog that day was called: We came, we saw, we believed. (We came, we saw, we believed) It was worth being there, of course it was. The Dogs upset the Pies, and Marcus, who could perhaps (I was coming around) now be called Bont, or Bonti, earned a Rising Star nomination. He hugged his dad at the end of the match. It was a beautiful moment.



We knew - KNEW - he was going to be special.



Bont (oh, all right, I was throwing caution to the wind by now) played every game for the rest of the season, one in which the Dogs finished 14th. In one of these he kicked a stupendous goal that is remembered by all who saw it and which saw me feverishly anoint him as a future captain, Brownlow and Norm Smith medalist! (My understated, low-key blog was called: All about the Bont) (All about The Bont) . I knew, we all knew, the hyperbole was justified. We saw greatness. We hoped, almost superstitiously feared, how far he could take us.

Bontempelli's goal of the year? - AFL

A recap: THAT goal again. Remarkably it was not 'goal of the year' and neither did Bont win the Rising Star.

Somehow, improbably, The Bont is now 27 years old. He plays his 200th game this week. Less improbably, he is our captain, for this was always his destiny, and a premiership player. By his own will, and outsized talent, he made that his, and our, destiny.



As fans, we've been alongside him, sometimes raucously, sometimes silently, always with a sort of reverence, through all those years.



We were there in the 2015 final, when a chant of his name which I've never heard (before or since) for an individual Bulldog reverberated around the arena. (Bont missed gettable shots of goal that evening, and a jittery Tragician feared that the Bulldog Curse had somehow infiltrated even his sunny demeanour).



We were there in the moment that some North Fake Tough Guys roughed him up. The unflappable teenager smothered the kick of one of the chief antagonists and then did what I christened the Bontempelli Smirk.



We joined him in the unlikely fairytale ride of 2016, mystified, and yet enthralled when we heard his, and the team's, mantra was: 'Why not us?' Such an UnBulldog-like, carefree sentiment would normally have been treated with suspicion, and worse, embarrassment ... as if we didn't know, as if it wasn't burnt into our consciousness, all the reasons it was never us. But in the moment that Bont stretched out his arms and outbodied Luke Hodge, I became strangely calm. I entered a trance-like state from that point, somehow indoctrinated almost against my will in a 'Why not us?' cult.



Now, when I watch the goal Bont kicked in the suffocating last quarter against The Despised Acronyms, I'm awed by the degree of difficulty. The way he had to run full pelt onto an awkwardly bouncing ball. The skill with which he paddled it almost delicately into his outsized hands.



The smoothness with which he steadied. The laser-like contact from his left foot.



So many things could have gone wrong. Yet at the time I knew no other thought, but that because it was Bont, he would surely kick it.



We've seen him kick goals of outrageous flair. Time and again we've seen him burst from the centre with that unique blend of grace and power. We've seen his strong, yet soft hands bring down marks, seen him somehow there on the last defensive line in the urgent dying matches of moments, his fist coming over the top to save the day. The competitiveness burning beneath a genial demeanour.



I guess there has been less of the Bontempelli smirk. Because hard times come to champions too.



We saw the GWS thugs monster him, the scratches on his face, the punch to his gut outside play. We weren't with him though - we were so many many kilometres away - when he celebrated his third goal in the 2021 Grand Final. Apart, literally, from our team, isolated by COVID, we watched those awful moments that followed, as the match vanished from our keeping. We could only silently grieve, for all our team but Bont in particular, knowing how much he had done to get us to that final, an awe-inspiring individual season, and captaining in the most difficult and extraordinary of circumstances.



It seemed important to me to keep the TV on, to see Bont make the concession speech, such a hard, wrenching moment. He was dignified. Calm. Gracious. But hurting.



We could see, in those stunned, wretched minutes, how badly our champ was hurting.



There are still occasional moments - though it's probably inevitable there are fewer in the hard grind of what's now a nine-year career - when we see the young Marcus reappear. When our team made the finals last year as The Old Dark Navy Blues slipped out of the eight in the dying moments of the round (that's a Tragician smirk from me) and he leapt around wildly with his team-mates. When Bont jumped from the bench when Little Arty NEARLY kicked a goal.



We brim with pride on every single occasion we see him in his captain role: his gentle and beautiful manner as he shepherds children who run through the banner, his fierce comments about racism, his silent but powerful stand alongside Jamarra when he spoke about what he'd endured.



Last week Bont played one of his more majestic games. Perhaps it was his best ever, I felt it to be so, yet memories can be so imprecise. But every feature, every one of his amazing repertoire of skills, was present in cameo. The clearance work where he doesn't slow down as he takes the ball and lopes off, much quicker than a guy of his size has any right to be. The outrageous 30-metre handballs which anticipate, indeed command, where his team-mate must go. Marking befitting a power forward. A speckie!



He's learning new tricks. He's in his prime.



I admit he has flaws. He's had a few bad haircuts, for example. If I think of any others I'll get back to you.



We've often wished we could clone him. At various points of last week's match I thought such technology had actually come to fruition, because surely that couldn't be Bont taking a mark on the forward line when he'd been the one to win the clearance, or spoil an opposition's forward thrust half a second earlier?



There is a school of thought that our club's erratic and overall disappointing performances since 2016 have 'wasted the Bont years.' That with this once-in-a-generation (make that once-in-a -lifetime) talent at our disposal, we should have been more successful. Reaped more rewards. Consistently played finals. Jagged a premiership, maybe two.



I don't quite see it that way.



Maybe it's the legacy of too many years where our team were a rabble, and perhaps fans of the big successful clubs would heap scorn on this idea. Just seeing Bont play has been a privilege and a joy, and his feats, his brilliance, will always shine bright whether he adds another premiership to an already glittering resume.



Maybe it's unique to us as Bulldogs' fans, or maybe it's unique to me as a Bulldog Tragician. I've learnt, maybe I had to learn, to take solace in tiny moments, and savour the individual talents, stories and efforts. Because premiership glory comes along rarely, and there have to be other reasons to drag out the scarf when someone's written a supercilious article calling you irrelevant and another thrashing seems assured. I've still appreciated the artistry, the bravery, the gumption of all those - too many! - Bulldogs who played 200, 300 games for us and didn't even make one grand final. Their careers weren't a waste. Their efforts are still to be celebrated.



There will be another flag for Bont, though, a voice whispers insistently in my ear. I certainly won't need any extra prompting to drag out my scarf and head for the match on Saturday, to celebrate the player and even more the person. He's definitely been a worthy heir to the Daniel Cross guernsey, and if we're very lucky there might at some point be a trademark Bontempelli smirk.
 
I remember reading that in one of the interviews that the clubs conduct with prospective draftees, Bont was asked what was the worst thing he’d ever done. He had a think and eventually replied, “I was rude to my sister.”

The club rep who asked the question was somewhat incredulous. Hopefully that was St Kilda and caused them to draft Billings instead 🤣
 
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NBates said:
Go Cyrus, Woof!
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Well done Cyrus. I look forward to seeing another cup on display at the club.

I got most of them right. Mrs dw says I should go on Hard Quiz.

I think I need to get a life. :sadv1:

:dogface:

EDIT: This was the first - and I predict the only - time I've ever watched the whole half hour of Hard Quiz.
 
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Dogs_R_Us said:
I remember reading that in one of the interviews that the clubs conduct with prospective draftees, Bont was asked what was the worst thing he’d ever done. He had a think and eventually replied, “I was rude to my sister.”

The club rep who asked the question was somewhat incredulous. Hopefully that was St Kilda and caused them to draft Billings instead 🤣
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If Little Bont and the Big Secret is to be read as autobiographical, he also lied to his grandmother at one point in his childhood
 
dogwatch said:
Well done Cyrus. I look forward to seeing another cup on display at the club.

I got most of them right. Mrs dw says I should go on Hard Quiz.

I think I need to get a life. :sadv1:

:dogface:

EDIT: This was the first - and I predict the only - time I've ever watched the whole half hour of Hard Quiz.
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They were ridiculously easy. How could he get the Bob Murphy one wrong.

* In fairness I wrote that before his second batch of questions and I didn’t know the Blue Lake one.
 
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What They're Saying - The Bulldogs Media Thread - Part 4

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