Western Bulldogs star Marcus Bontempelli says young pups ready for Sydney’s star-studded midfield

WESTERN Bulldogs star Marcus Bontempelli is undaunted by the prospect of his team’s young midfield going head-to-head with Sydney core of hard-nosed on-ballers.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - SEPTEMBER 26: Marcus Bontempelli of the Bulldogs poses during a Western Bulldogs AFL media opportunity at Whitten Oval on September 26, 2016 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)

WESTERN Bulldogs star Marcus Bontempelli is undaunted by the prospect of his team’s young midfield going head-to-head with Sydney core of hard-nosed on-ballers, saying that battle could decide the 2016 premier.

But the 20-year-old insisted the Bulldogs’ nail-biting four-point win over the Swans in Round 15 won’t have any bearing on the outcome of the Grand Final.

“It comes back to a clean slate, really. It is a fresh game, and we will review their weekend (win over Geelong) a bit later in the week,” Bontempelli said.

“It is going to be a hot contest.”

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Bontempelli said it was “humbling” to have received so much support from Victorians as they are chasing the club’s second premiership.

But he said the players won’t deviate from the pathway that has got them through to the Grand Final.

“You do recognise it, and that’s important for us to do that,” he said of the mass of support. “Fifty-five years (since the Bulldogs’ last Grand Final appearance) is a long time, but we are just enjoying it day by day and taking it minute by minute.”

“It’s going to be a different week, but the attitude of the players and the club is still business as usual. We won’t change much of our routine.

“We’ve had that sort of mentality since the start of the finals — that we are on a journey to experience whatever really comes our way.

“As long as we keep doing that, it will keep us in good stead.

“Momentum is a strong thing and it can carry you to new places ... that’s certainly been the case for us.”

The Bont led from the front against GWS. Picture: Getty Images

So much of the focus will come in the battle of the two midfields, with Bontempelli saying: “I think that is going to be the game, really, it’s us versus them. That’s how big finals are played.”

“We know the quality of the team Sydney is, and we know there has been a massive challenge set. (But) we are certainly strong with our belief in hopefully what we can achieve.”

Sydney’s midfield bats incredibly deep, as evidenced last Friday when the Swans were still able to dominate the middle of the ground, despite the fact Patrick Dangerfield and Joel Selwood each had 39 touches.

Bontempelli, who will likely spend some time on the dangerous Josh Kennedy, said he is up for the challenge physically, shrugging suggestions he was sore following a knock he copped in Saturday’s preliminary final win over Greater Western Sydney.

“The body is in good nick,” he said. “It was just a knock, the ones that you get week in and week out. You are conditioned for the pain, for the corkies that come with the game.”

The classy Bulldog has owned a number of clutch moments during the past two finals to kick game-defining goals, saying the belief the group has in each other has been a powerful force.

“There are moments in games and I guess they pop up at any particular time,” he said. “I don’t know if I am conditioned to them at all ... but as I have mentioned previously it is about staying the game.”

“You back yourself to be able to finish them (the big moments) in those circumstances. I think that is something we can do as a club, to close it out well. Hopefully that will put us in contention (this week).”