‘Saw him limp a bit’: Bulldogs consider resting Bontempelli; Showdown thrills and spills

Luke Beveridge will contemplate resting beaten-up skipper Marcus Bontempelli after their 12-point loss to Fremantle despite the Bulldogs midfield being severely depleted by injuries.

Bontempelli was huge against the Dockers at Marvel Stadium, dominating the opening term with 15 possessions and finishing the night with 33 disposals and two goals.

But the brave skipper had his right knee heavily bandaged and looked to be hobbling at stages of the game.

“Positionally, our depth through that area is strained,” Beveridge said.

Tom Liberatore is expected to have minor knee surgery as he also deals with a concussion, while the injury-plagued Adam Treloar has suffered another setback and his availability is “tenuous”.

It would be nice to be able to do that (rest Bontempelli), but we’re not in a position to – look, I think quite simply with Marcus we might need to rest him this week. I don’t know.

“But we won’t take any risk if we think he’s going to get sore, or he’s going to re-injure something. I mean, he was quite outstanding for most of the game tonight … I saw him limp a bit as a game went on, and don’t like to see that.”

“Our depth through that midfield area is pretty thin right now, even with Riley Garcia still some weeks away, and Cody Weightman can play some minutes there.

“It would be nice to be able to do that (rest Bontempelli), but we’re not in a position to – look, I think quite simply with Marcus we might need to rest him this week. I don’t know.

“But we won’t take any risk if we think he’s going to get sore, or he’s going to re-injure something. I mean, he was quite outstanding for most of the game tonight.

“I saw him limp a bit as a game went on, and don’t like to see that. So we’ll work through it during the week.”

Beveridge said the Bulldogs would lose Laitham Vandermeer with a hamstring complaint, and they were working through Treloar’s latest setback after he returned for last week’s clash against Sydney only to miss this week.

The Bulldogs’ team selection said Treloar had been managed for the Dockers clash.

“We’ve just given him a few days,” Beveridge said. “It’s frustrating for him. His body’s letting him down a little bit. And I can’t really give you much more than that at the moment.

Beveridge was pleased by the Bulldogs’ ability to take it up to the more fancied Dockers, but said his side could not gain enough momentum in the second half.

They led by 26 points at quarter time and 14 points at half-time, but lost by two goals after rallying again late in the game.

“They came through us a few times and kicked a few too many from forward 50,” he said.

“We couldn’t afford to give them 63 inside 50s tonight.”

Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir gave his players a spray at quarter-time to rouse them into action.

“This felt like a danger game to me,” Longmuir said.

“There was a lot of talk about the Bulldogs, how many injuries they’ve got, their form, they were wounded and early in the week [Tim] English not playing, [Aaron] Naughton not playing, it just felt like a danger game.

“I tried to make them really aware of the intensity and the desperation that the Dogs were going to play at and we weren’t up for the fight. We were sloppy as well.”

The AFL review system came under fire during the third term when the umpires looked to incorrectly award a last-touch free kick to the wrong team.

The ball appeared to come off the boot of Bulldog Lachie McNeil before crossing the boundary line, but the free kick was paid against Fremantle’s Andrew Brayshaw. It resulted in a Bulldog goal.

Lately the ARC system was being used to overturn these decisions. That has now been changed.

Brayshaw was again in the spotlight when he went to high five teammate Josh Treacy after kicking a last-quarter goal, but poked his teammate in the eye, and he had to leave the field for 10 minutes.
At the time, Fremantle were 28 points up and the Dogs kicked the next three goals.

The highlight of the night came from Docker Hayden Young who kicked a goal-of-the-year contender with a brilliant 35m left-foot banana from the boundary line.

Young kicked three second-half goal and along with Shai Bolton and Luke Jackson sparked the Fremantle comeback. They have now won seven straight and face Hawthorn on Thursday night.

There’s the siren. It’s official – Showdowns are the best in footy.

It’s almost like it’s mandated in the AFL constitution that showdowns must be close and thrilling. Happens every time.

Adelaide’s winning margin was just .… one-point!

Wayne Milera kicked a great goal for Adelaide BUT, no it’s DISALLOWED!

There was a push on the goal-line. The margin is still less than one goal.

Will this be the moment that defines the game?

This is pulsating finish. There’s no more than two minutes of footy to come. Each possession is hard fought. Each moment is telling. There’s less than one goal in it …..

Unsung Toby Murray bagged the first two goals of his AFL career in the last 67 seconds of a gripping third quarter to give Adelaide an eight-point quarter-time cushion over Port Adelaide.

Third-gamer Murray’s first – a beauty from the scoreboard pocket – gave the Crows their first lead since the opening minutes, before he followed with another with just seven seconds left on the clock.

Izak Rankine set Adelaide Oval alight with one of the goals of the season entering time-on, following a deft behind-the-head tap over Jase Burgoyne with a fine finish from 50m after getting the handball back from Isaac Cumming.

After trailing at both of the first two changes and for most of the third term, the Crows deserved their lead, progressively asserting themselves on the Power at the contest and in the territory battle.

The 59th Showdown looms as the battle of the fittest with quartet Taylor Walker, Jordon Butts (Adelaide), Mitch Georgiades and Logan Evans (Port) all with injury concerns.

Zak Butters, best-afield in the first half, wasn’t at his best in that quarter. Nor were the Power, but they are far from out of this one.