Superstar Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli will need the help his coach Luke Beveridge is demanding in Saturday’s must-win clash with Fremantle after missing a full week of training through illness.
Bontempelli has been “crook” in the days since last Friday’s thrashing at the hands of the Brisbane Lions, a loss that pushed the Bulldogs to 11th on the ladder, one win outside the top eight.
While Beveridge is confident Bontempelli will be ready for the game, the fact he is underprepared makes it more important than ever that the Bulldogs aren’t simply “relying on the skipper” to get them over the line.
“We’re going nowhere if we keep relying on the skipper,” Beveridge said.
“He’s having a really strong year, he’s had some extraordinary performances over his journey.
“But we need an even spread of contributors to beat Fremantle because their great strength is their work ethic. They’re systematic with some of the things they do, they’re a difficult team to beat.
“So we need to rely on everyone, and Marcus is just one of 23.”
Beveridge said he hoped Bontempelli wasn’t impacted “too much” by the illness but conceded it was hard to know despite the captain having performed under duress already this season.
“He was crook a couple of weeks ago, too. That was before the Collingwood game, actually, and he came out and played an extremely influential game,” he said.
“He hasn’t trained with the group this week. He comes in today – it’s a pretty early game tomorrow so we’ll hardly do anything at our captain’s run.
“He’s had a different preparation, and as you’re aware and as you can understand with him, it’ll take something pretty significant to stop him from playing.
“Hopefully, he’s not affected by it too much.”
The Bulldogs will be boosted in the midfield by the return of Ed Richards from two weeks off due to concussion, with livewire forward Cody Weightman also back after having elbow surgery.
Beveridge also expected big man Rory Lobb to be fit to face his former club after hurting his ankle against the Lions, with a two-pronged Fremantle ruck combination to curtail.
“He’s OK, he’s definitely playing and he and Tim (English) have got a big challenge on their hands with Sean Darcy and young (Luke) Jackson,” he said.
“He’ll play a pivotal role in our chances of overcoming them and what they’re trying to do.”