AFTER playing an important role in the Western Bulldogs’ eight-point win against Collingwood on Sunday, 18-year-old Marcus Bontempelli was awarded the Round 13 NAB AFL Rising Star.
Bontempelli played his junior football with the Eltham Football Club and was selected by the Bulldogs with No.4 pick in last year’s NAB AFL Draft, following a standout year for the Northern Knights in the TAC Cup.
He was the second former Northern Football League junior to join the Bulldogs in as many years, after Nathan Hrovat was drafted to the club in 2012.
In his sixth senior game, Bontempelli showed glimpses of the player he could become, with swift ball moment, composure under pressure and a resolute attitude to help the team.
In sheer numbers, the teenager had 10 touches, three clearances, three inside 50s and a goal in the third quarter alone, when the contest was at its hottest and it was the win that Bontempelli wanted to talk about most.
“It’s going to be a moment I remember for the rest of my life,” Bontempelli told westernbulldogs.com.au.
“An important time for me is coming in and having my first win with the group and probably what I’ve been longing for the last five or six games.
“To have done it the way that we did – and the way that the group was able to respond from a bit of criticism in the last few weeks – I think we are really happy that we came together as a group and fought our way home to win.”
The football world witnessed an intimate embrace between father and son as Bontempelli left the field and the teenager said having his family by his side in the first win made it more special.
“[It was] unbelievable. The fact that they were able to get down to the boundary where the gate was and … I was able to embrace them all,” he said.
Looking to the experienced heads around the Club for guidance, Bontempelli said Sunday’s game was the most comfortable he had felt at the higher level so far.
“I am still finding my way a little bit… I guess at the moment I am just trying to take as much advice as I can in as possible,” he said.
“I’m lucky that there’s plenty of it around.
“On the weekend I found I was most settled that I have been… that probably just came with feeling a bit more comfortable and confident that I can contribute just like everyone else.”
Bontempelli is one of a long list of Eltham juniors to currently on an AFL list.
Other former Panthers playing at the elite level include David Zaharakis (Essendon), Josh Caddy (Geelong), Nick Vlastuin (Richmond) and Daniel Currie (North Melbourne).
Meanwhile, former Eltham junior Adam Simpson is in his debut season as senior coach of the West Coast Eagles, following a 306-game playing career with North Melbourne.
