Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli says the recent COVID-19 obstacles have not been a distraction to the group, as they continue in their preparations to host Melbourne on Friday night.

The mouth-watering top-of-the-table clash at Marvel Stadium will launch Sir Doug Nicholls Indigenous Round, with decisions on crowd capacities and potentially an open roof to be made by the AFL as early as today.

Fresh from penning a four-year contract extension, Bontempelli said the circumstances won’t disrupt his side.

“(The crowd decision) probably won’t change our thinking and the way we go into playing from a mindset point of view,” the skipper told media on Wednesday morning.

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Marcus Bontempelli | 'I'm excited by what the future is for us'

Marcus Bontempelli spoke to the media at VU Whitten Oval following the news he had re-signed with the club for four more years.

“Ultimately you feel for our people – you feel for the fans. It feels like everyone’s loved being back at the football. It is part of it and it’s part of why I love playing.

“I’d imagine it’s part of every footballer’s make-up – being able to do what they do in front of your fans and your footy people, but it’s clearly a by-product of what’s happening here at the minute.

“I think we’re all hopeful that we can get it under control pretty quickly and can have fans there. If it’s a little bit less than normal or a bit more, I think it’s just got to be that way unfortunately.”

Bontempelli said the decision to have the Marvel Stadium roof open or closed shouldn’t make any difference to how the Bulldogs enter Friday’s clash either.

“(The roof open) might make a bit of a difference I guess – hopefully the weather stays clear and it doesn’t bring any rain, but you just prepare to play in whatever conditions you need to as a footballer,” he said.

“Obviously we travel and play in stadiums that don’t have roofs over them, so you’re pretty much ready to play in whatever conditions are thrown at us.”

The Bulldogs and Demons sit in first and second position on the ladder respectively, with both sides holding a win-loss record of 9-1.

Bontempelli said the group is ready for the challenge.

“Obviously they’ve been an incredibly strong side all season, and only really going down in that recent one by one point so we’re expecting Melbourne’s best,” he said.

“They’ve been a really strong in-form team as well over the competition, and it’s going to be an exciting build-up to the game. We’re looking forward to it.”