Most of the great players have it.

That ability to find time and space while the game swirls around them at speed.  While opponents and teammates are all arms and legs, the game seems to slow down for some, and according to Bulldogs skipper Bob Murphy, Marcus Bontempelli is one of those players.

“When he’s got the ball the game does stop, like a lot of the great players,” Murphy said.

Bontempelli has had a stellar 2016 season and was rewarded with a spot in this year’s All-Australian team, but there’s something else the 21-year-old has done regularly this season – sensing those moments in a game when something special is required and delivering.

Think Adelaide in round seven, West Coast in round 11, Port Adelaide in round 12.

"It’s one thing to recognise it,’ Murphy said on the night the All-Australian team was announced, ‘[but] to influence it is another and he does that better than anyone at the Bulldogs, probably."

Against the West Coast back in June, the 21-year-old was instrumental in holding off a late Eagles charge, keeping his cool under pressure and feeding Tom Liberatore who snapped the sealer.

Teammate Liam Picken has marvelled at his young teammate this season, but says if they’re to leave Perth with a win on Friday, it’ll need to be a full team effort.

“You’ve probably seen the last half of the year, he’s always stepped up in the key moments [and] dragged us over the line," he said.

"But everyone’s going to have to be on their game, helping him out [on Thursday].

“Big finals, the pressure is going to lift, so everyone’s got to be there.”

The Bulldogs are 5-1 in games decided by 10 points or less this season and Bontempelli says that the ability to win the tight ones can’t and doesn’t rest at the feet of one player.

“As a team we’ve been able to close games out well together, so I don’t think it really lays at my feet it’s really across the board.”