Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli says his additional forward minutes are not a result of carrying any injuries.
The 26-year-old ball-winner spent more time in attack against North Melbourne on Good Friday, finishing with three goals, 18 disposals, nine marks and nine score involvements.
He said his on-field role was likely to change slightly each round, depending on what the team needs from him.
“It’s a bit of a week-to-week question mark as to what the team looks like, what the opposition looks like, and what I can probably provide down there from a maturity point of view,” Bontempelli told AFL 360 on Tuesday night.
“Obviously we’ve got the compliment and depth of midfielders who can play on ball – we’ve seen the growth of Bailey Smith this season, and then there’s the other stalwarts in Jack Macrae, Adsy Treloar and these boys.
“The complexion of our forward line has changed a fair bit over a short period of time, especially with the hole probably that Josh Bruce left last year.
“I felt like (spending more time forward) worked for us alright on the weekend.
“Sometimes it happens like that. You feel like you get one (niggle) and then another all in a little sort of period, but I feel like I’m starting to sort of free up a little bit now – it’s never been anything that’s sort of stopped me enough from being able to contribute and do what I want to do.
“You know you just sort of cop those every now and then, and work through them.”
The Bulldogs will head to their second home, Mars Stadium in Ballarat, this Saturday afternoon to face Adelaide.
Bontempelli hopes they can replicate the brand of footy they played in their 68-point triumph over North Melbourne.
“It was great to get another win last week, obviously after falling short by a pretty decent margin to (the Tigers), although we didn’t help ourselves by not kicking too straight,” the skipper said.
“It was nice to bank some goals and play a better brand for us, and a bit more of a consistent one (against the Kangaroos).
“Hopefully we can keep building on that down in Ballarat.”
Tickets to the round six clash are still available, with all the essential match-day information here.
