Round 13 AFL Rising Star nominee Marcus Bontempelli’s Kodak Moment after Western Bulldogs beat Collingwood

IT was the Kodak moment which Rising Star nominee Marcus Bontempelli will look back on as the moment he arrived as an AFL player.

AFL Round 13 Collingwood v Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium. Marcus Bontempelli gets a hug from his dad after playing in his first win . Pic: Michael Klein. Sunday June 15, 2014.

IT was the Kodak moment which Marcus Bontempelli will look back on as the moment he arrived as an AFL player.

The No. 4 draft pick was locked in a hug with dad, Carlo, moments after his first win as a Western Bulldog in a game where he slotted his first AFL goal and which won him a Rising Star nomination.

The picture that sent social media crazy. Bontempelli gets a hug from his Dad, Carlo, after playing in his first win. Picture: Michael Klein

The Herald Sun photograph, which went viral on Twitter, was sent to the 192cm midfielder four times on Sunday night and he was quick to save it on his phone.

“The picture really cements (the moment) in my mind and to share the moment made it more invaluable,” he said.

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“It was unbelievable. To walk the boundary line and see all my family and friends at the gate, I was stoked.”

It was those emotions which Bontempelli filled Dogs fans with moments earlier, when with his 22nd disposal he found space, marked an Easton Wood kick and set up Jason Tutt to boot the winning goal against Collingwood, killing off Travis Cloke’s final surge.

And Bontempelli said it was “surreal” to play against Scott Pendlebury after modelling his game on the star Magpie so well that recruiters — and Dogs teammates — have frequently noted their similar styles.

Ripping shot, @kleinyheraldsun. Marcus Bontempelli gets a hug from Dad after his first win: http://t.co/hFwmWn4HHS pic.twitter.com/sxbpMgNCcM

— SuperFooty (AFL) (@superfooty) June 15, 2014

Sub-type: comment CAPTION: Ripping shot, @kleinyheraldsun. Marcus Bontempelli gets a hug from Dad after his first win: http://t.co/hFwmWn4HHS pic.twitter.com/sxbpMgNCcM & mdash; SuperFooty (AFL) (@superfooty) June 15, 2014

The cousin of North Melbourne star Nick Dal Santo was one of the youngest players drafted last year and rated by one club as the best talent in the pool, owing to his uncapped potential after a late-season charge up the charts.

He is unsure if he’ll continue to grow but, like fellow prized pick Jake Stringer, is expected to be used in a variety of positions as the Dogs develop a clutch of versatile players they hope will offer a unique strength when next enter the premiership mix.

“We came together as a group during the week really well and I was just really happy that in my sixth game I felt more comfortable out there,” Bontempelli said of the Dogs’ response to last week’s disappointing loss to Brisbane.

“I’ve loved every minute of being here and playing for the Western Bulldogs.

“Coming to a club that I knew was on the up and knowing from the coach the club was full of good people and good leaders that want to take it to another level made it that much better.”

Bontempelli gets mobbed by teammates after kicking his first AFL goal. Picture: Michael Klein

Bontempelli said locker neighbours Matthew Boyd and Bob Murphy had made strong impacts on his development, along with the support of youngsters Tom Liberatore, Mitch Wallis and Koby Stevens.

Fellow draftee Mitch Honeychurch will challenge a one-match suspension at the VFL tribunal on Tuesday night, with the small forward a hot chance to make his AFL debut after starring with five goals and 25 disposals against Port Melbourne.

— with Jay Clark