Marcus Bontempelli can see himself spending more time closer to goal in 2021.

The Bulldogs’ skipper is coming off a pair of prolific seasons, where he has earned back-to-back All Australian selections.

Bontempelli kicked 11 goals in 18 games last year, as he pushed forward at times to complement his work in the middle.

With the arrival of Adam Treloar and the retention of Josh Dunkley, the 25-year-old is honing his forward craft as he looks to add another strength to his game.

16:09

Bulldogs Radio | Marcus Bontempelli on RSN (February 9th)

Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli spoke to Daniel Harford and Adam White on The Breakfast Club.

“The opportunities to impact the scoreboard more is something I’ve continued to work on and explore,” Bontempelli told RSN Breakfast Club on Tuesday.

“With the game time going back out to regular (20-minute quarters) this season, it’ll help.

“I’ll probably spend periods of time forward – or longer periods of time forward in some games.

“You’re always looking for a greater ability to influence, and that’s something the best players, the best mids in the competition are able to do on a regular basis.

“Hopefully it’s something I can do to help support our forward and our key forwards.”

Bontempelli said the addition of the “dynamic” Treloar would be a major boost for the Bulldogs’ 2021 ambitions.

But finding the best midfield mix will still be a work in progress over the coming months.

The star midfielder believes Luke Beveridge’s mantra of players being able to fill multiple roles in recent season holds them in good stead.

“At the minute, as we get into more match play we’re still fiddling with – at different points – who’s going to play where,” Bontempelli said.

“That’s the challenge our coaching group have, of how we best manage each player’s time in certain parts of the ground.

“Probably the strength of our program and what Bevo’s preached over many, many years is that flexibility, the ability to adapt and change and play multiple roles.

“Being able to add players like Adam over the journey caters to the way we like to do things already, that you might have to spend different chunks of time in different parts of the ground.

“We’re still waiting to see exactly how it fits, but it may take some time before we get to that natural finishing point.”