Advice from Brendan McCartney rings true for Marcus Bontempelli during tough times
AS the Western Bulldogs endure a tumultuous premiership defence, advice from former coach Brendan McCartney rings true for Marcus Bontempelli.
Marcus Bontempelli
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A CUP of warm soup. It’s part of the routine at the Western Bulldogs the day before a game. Trish and Anne, our much loved kitchen women, deliver the goodness.
There are so many small things that happen at football clubs that keep a smile on your face even in the bleakest of moments.
The soup helps to settle any pre-game nerves and makes you appreciate the people who make the club tick.
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Football clubs are special places and I still remember the advice I was given in my first year by my then-coach Brendan McCartney: “You’ll learn a lot in your career, but one thing to always remember is that things are never as good as they seem, nor as bad as they seem.”
It speaks to perspective, to balance, to an understanding of the moment, and how quickly things can change. You can never be too happy with yourself or too down on yourself.
There’s many little things that play out day to day, week to week, that make our footy club more than just a football zone.
Senior coach Luke Beveridge is a leader in this respect because of his insatiable appetite for humour every day.
Always keen on a dad joke, Bevo takes it on himself to take the lead at most meetings by starting with a joke, well aware of the fact that it may not provoke any laughter.
His attempts at humour are quite selfless, and the players can rely on his humour despite the result on Friday night.
The joke telling has now flowed on to the players and in each main meeting a player must tell a gag.
It’s certainly given us all a greater appreciation of Bevo, as each of us finds out that sometimes it’s harder to get a laugh than get a kick.
The highlight of a local footy club’s week is match selection night when, after finishing training on a cold winter’s night, the team always enjoys a meal together.
Our version is simply called “Tuesday night dinner”.
The afternoon training session provides an opportunity for supporters to come along, much like the 1990s when closed sessions were a myth and training was only on a Tuesday and Thursday night.
These diehard supporters are so important in many ways and you can’t help but marvel at how they maintain a vibrant outlook, rain, hail or shine.
People such as Pat and Jenny Hodgson, who have been with us for years.
They will be there braving the cold just to remind every player that “we’ll be right” and “you’ll get ‘em this week, fellas”.
I’m sure every club has people like Pat and Jenny who have this unwavering support and are constants in the lives of the players, again providing the reminder that things are never as bad, or as good, as they seem.
Banter between teammates always has its place in football clubs and it’s the creative meaning behind the made up words which set one club apart from the next.
Our banter can stem from almost anything, but fashion at Whitten Oval is always an area where teammates aren’t afraid to have an opinion.
Players take a keen interest in what others are wearing, as it’s an expression of self that’s different from on-field. And boy, do we see a variety.
From Matty Suckling’s Gucci flip-flops to Bobby Murphy’s Nike high-tops, there are fashion statements and then there are some things that shock.
So every player knows the wearing of new jacket or a new pair of shoes will bring with it some heat from the boys.
All of these things are what make football clubs so good.
They are what we lean on in times like the one we find ourselves in right now.
Never have Macca’s words been more appropriate and next Saturday I’ll line up with the rest of the boys for my cup of soup from Trish and Anne.
I’m not sure which soup will be on the menu, but hopefully they can find that special ingredient they were using at the end of last season.
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