‘We’re a resilient group’: Shattered Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli is confident his side can rebuild

Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli says Saturday night’s grand final loss to Melbourne ‘will sting for a bit’.

The Bulldogs couldn’t keep pace with the Demons on Saturday night. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Western Bulldogs skipper Marcus Bontempelli says it will take the efforts of many to ensure that the squad moves on from Saturday night’s disappointing Grand Final loss to Melbourne.

The 25-year-old knows he will shoulder some of the responsibility of getting the Bulldogs back to a position to challenge again, having taken on the captaincy before the 2020 season. He knows he will need to lead the team through the off-season and into 2022, but said others will need to chip in.

And rightly so. There wouldn’t be too many captains that have faced as much as what Bontempelli has had thrown at him since the role was passed to him from Easton Wood.

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All clubs had to work through a shortened season due to Covid-19 in Bontempelli’s first season, including stints away from him, living in hubs interstate.

In his second, what initially looked like a return to normality at the start of the season, ended up with a travel schedule over the last few weeks that included flights from Melbourne to Launceston to Brisbane to Perth to Adelaide and then back to Perth.

The Dogs haven’t played in Melbourne since August 15 and not in Victoria since August 21, when they travelled to Geelong.

The last time they played in front of a crowd at the MCG was against Greater Western Sydney in Round 16.

And now there is a 74-point grand final loss to help his side get over.

Bontempelli (L) is confident the Bulldogs can bounce back. (Photo by Gary Day/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

“The endeavour has to be there now to bounce back, lick our wounds,” Bontempelli said.

“This will sting for a little bit, and try to bounce back. That’s the key think – walk away thinking we can get back here and change the story line.

“We’re a resilient group.

“We have to spread the load. It’s not purely up to me, to set the tone, set the direction.

“I feel we’re in a good direction with the squad we’ve got to continue to challenge and be back here.”

Bontempelli acknowledged the strength in Melbourne’s performance and conceded that the Demons had “probably been the best team all season”.

He said that defending against them is always tough because they are so versatile and can test teams in multiple ways.

After leading by 19 points in third term, the Dogs were blown off Optus Stadium. The Demons kicked 16 of the last 17 goals of the game to win 21.14 (140) to 10.6 (66).

Melbourne broke its 57-year premiership drought on Saturday night. (Photo by Will Russell/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

The champion Dog said the way the game panned out was a tough one to swallow.

“When you consider how much in the game we were and how we put ourselves in a pretty strong position and thought we had a pretty good handle on the game,” he said.

“Ultimately, having the game play out the way, it does hurt you the most. It’s not a true reflection of us and our football and what we like to represent.

“There is an upside.

“A lot of our young players played well through most of the finals really, to get us to this point.

“It’s difficult to make a grand final and that’s a milestone in itself.”

Originally published as ‘We’re a resilient group’: Shattered Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli is confident his side can rebuild