Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli says while his balance of midfield and forward minutes is yet to be decided, he is open to playing any mix in season 2022.
Bontempelli registered a career-high 31 goals last season, as the Bulldogs juggled a talented midfield group consisting of Jack Macrae, Tom Liberatore, Bailey Smith and Josh Dunkley to name a few.
“I haven’t chatted too much to Bevo or the line coaches yet as to what the break-up sort of looks like – it could change depending on player availability or who we’ve got out on the track from a week-to-week perspective,” he told SEN 1116 on Tuesday morning.
“You probably saw in the early part of last year that when we had our full complement of midfielders, we still managed to split up our time pretty well and all get a look inside as well as forward.
“I’m more and more open to being moved or shifted – if it means forward, that’s something I look forward to trying to develop and grow in a different position, and hopefully be a different threat to deal with.
“I’m really well looked after from an inside (midfield) perspective with Jack Macrae, Dunks, Libba and Adam – they’re sort of extracted at different points and you manage to benefit from their growth and development.”
Bontempelli, who will continue as captain for a third consecutive season, lauded the additions to the Bulldogs’ leadership group in newly-named deputy Jack Macrae, and leaders Caleb Daniel, Aaron Naughton and Taylor Duryea.
“(The leadership group) has probably changed a bit over the journey – obviously I’ve been part of it for a number of years now, but this year’s one was probably a discussion between myself, Bevo and other key leaders of the football club,” he said.
“We worked through who we felt like had an incredible influence on and off field, and has continued to grow and develop over the journey.
“The blokes we ended up announcing are players we feel obviously have runs on the board, but have such a significant influence over the group and feel like will be great motivators.”
The Bulldogs will take on Essendon in a pre-season practice match on Wednesday 23 February, before facing Brisbane in their 2022 AAMI Community Series match on Friday 4 March.
