Beware the wounded dog: Why didn’t Freo tag ‘The Bont’?

In the lead-up to Saturday’s Bulldogs-Dockers match, I was more than bullish on the Dockers banking another four points.

Fresh off their best win under Justin Longmuir, seven weeks after taming the same opposition, I thought Fremantle would return from their bye with a bang, further strengthening not just their finals claims, but their top four chances.

Marcus Bontempelli of the Bulldogs kicks a goal.Credit: Getty Images

Sporting the competition’s best defence, the Dockers wouldn’t be troubled by the injured Aaron Naughton and suspended Sam Darcy.

With a 4-2 interstate record this year and perfect 2-0 at Docklands, I was chips in on Fremantle. But like the Dockers, I too underestimated the capabilities of Marcus Bontempelli.

And beware the wounded Dog.

Bontempelli dominated the lead-in days to the match, the star midfielder failing to train all week, rumours circulating he was in doubt to take his place.

Brushing aside the flu, he then did the same to Fremantle. Game high in disposals (30), metres gained (682), score involvements (15) and goal assists (3), culminating in 162 ranking points, the most of any player on the field.

Oh, and not to mention his three goals. It was staggering why the Dockers failed to apply a shutdown role on Bontempelli.

The tagging role has recently come back into vogue, only a week earlier Brisbane’s Jarrod Berry played a run-with role on the gun Bulldog.

While “The Bont” wasn’t stopped, he was restricted. He kicked three goals from 19 touches, but had nowhere near the impact around stoppage as the Lions cruised to victory.

The blueprint was there for Fremantle to follow and by not doing so, they paid the ultimate price.

Bontempelli ripped away any hope of victory in a second quarter blitz, where his opening minute inside-fifty kick found the chest of Cody Weightman, a precision pass over long distance which had commentator Johnathon Brown immediately calling it “one of the kicks of the year.”

With just over three minutes to play in the second quarter, he had claims too on one of the Goals of the Year.

Bontempelli first competed in the air with Alex Pearce, 20 metres out from goal. Once landing, he was sandwiched between the Dockers captain and fellow star defender Luke Ryan, then out-muscled, out-willed and out-worked both, snapping a tremendous six-pointer.

Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli beat three opponents to kick a goal-of-the-year contender at Marvel Stadium against Fremantle.Credit: Fox Footy

It’s not like Fremantle couldn’t have forecast him dining out yet again. Such is Bontempelli’s love affair with playing the men in purple, he’s produced four best on grounds in his past six games, polling in five of those matches, yielding 13 of a possible 18 votes.

All bar one of those best on ground performances have come in Longmuir’s time at the helm, making the decision not to apply a hard-tag even more baffling.

Had the sides met each other a second time in 2021, Bontempelli may have just received the three votes required to jointly win Chas alongside Port’s Ollie Wines.

Come Brownlow Medal night this year, you may as well give him the 3, 2 and 1 such was his dominance over the weekend.

Bontempelli is already being touted as the greatest Bulldog of all-time and what we were treated to on Saturday was brilliance by an individual, the sort we would pay admission alone to see.

‘The Bont’ got off the leash, reminding us all, why he’s a modern-day marvel.