Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli won’t be expecting anything different from his newly-named vice captain, Mitch Wallis, this season.

Instead, all the second-year skipper hopes for is that his deputy continues doing everything he already has been. 

“The advice I got from a personal perspective when I moved into the skipper role, is that you don’t need to do anything different – which is exactly what we expect of Mitch,” Bontempelli told westernbulldogs.com.au.

“The one thing I learnt from a very early age, when I first got to the football club, is how much Mitch cares about this place, the people, and everything that goes with being a Western Bulldogs player.

“It’s a proud moment for Mitch, and I know his family would be very proud, but it’s a proud moment for me as well, as one of his really good mates to see him be acknowledged in this way.”

Wallis has been part of the Bulldogs’ extended leadership group for the past two seasons.

The Bulldogs opted not to elect players into a formal leadership group this season, which Bontempelli recognises as a good move considering the wealth of leaders at the Club.

“It is a bit of a shift from your more traditional leadership group, having a bit more of almost a rotational sort of system where we acknowledge that we’ve got a lot of good, young and mature leaders within the football club,” he said.

“It’s about understanding that and looking to inspire as well, and almost have ownership across the board.

“It’s a good progressive move, but in a team like ours it does suit.

“Knowing we’ve got so many of the group to go to, but also to help grow the group and their own leadership capacities is something we’re really looking forward to.”