Western Bulldogs skipper Marcus Bontempelli says his side is taking each week as it comes, rather than looking too far ahead to any end of season permutations.
The Bulldogs’ defeat over Essendon saw them bank an important four points to remain in the top eight, with Bontempelli telling ABC Radio how much emphasis the group placed on the game, led by coach Luke Beveridge.
“A lot of Bevo’s messaging was around ‘the time is now’ - he was really imploring us to make the most of now, and not wait for the opportunities up ahead,” the captain told ABC on Saturday.
“None of that (ahead) really matters unless we get through this one in the right fashion.
“Bevo put it on us to really make the most of this game, and this opportunity to be able to set us up week on week. He put a lot of emphasis on the fact that we can’t be scanning too far ahead – this is the most important game for our future, and then we build each week.”
Bontempelli praised fellow clearance king Tom Liberatore for his impact on Friday night, as well as soon to be 100-gamer Bailey Smith who bounced back into form against the Dons.
“He is a superstar - I’ve had the pleasure and the privilege really of playing with Tom for all of my career, bar a few seasons here and there through injury,” Bontempelli said.
“I continue to sort of marvel, as we all do, at how he extracts from the inside to the outside. There’s no doubt my game and my growth has benefitted off Tom’s inside work.
“When he’s in that sort of form, we all reap the rewards. He’s an outstanding human and an outstanding footballer.
“(Baz and I) do a lot together – we sit through film and edits together, and he’s constantly trying to learn and explore parts of his game that he feels like aren’t probably up to the level he wants them to get to.
“It’s that perfect sort of growth mindset you want in all players – to be continually trying to make sure they’re at the top of their weapons and strengths, but also looking to advance the other aspects of their game.
“He’s getting himself into good areas of the ground where he can impact offensively and then defensively – as you saw, his inside grunt work where he laid a couple of critical tackles were really important for us, and at really important times of the game.
“These processes are never really linear – you hope they just go directly up, but sometimes you do have to take a step back here and there to reassess.
“This constant attitude to improve is what will continue to make him a great influential player.”
The Bulldogs are set to celebrate Smith’s 100th match in Ballarat this Saturday afternoon against the Giants.
