The Western Bulldogs are not making plans for tackling Port Adelaide without superstar skipper Marcus Bontempelli and have backed Adam Treloar to bounce back from his semi-final shocker on Saturday. Jack Macrae took Treloar’s share of the workload, and then some, in an epic 39-disposal effort in the one-point win over the Lions last weekend that progressed the Bulldogs to a preliminary final showdown with Port.
Treloar, who missed 10 games during the middle of the season with an ankle injury, has come under fire for his lacklustre effort, returning just 10 touches, his lowest return for the season. At times he even appeared to “give up” according to some critics who pointed to poor body language from the former Magpie. Macrae, who leads the Gary Ayres Medal for the best finals player after earning a perfect 10 votes, said none of Treloar’s teammates thought he did anything but his best. While the returns weren’t there last weekend, Macrae said Treloar wouldn’t be down for long.
Macrae stated earlier in the week that “There’s so much going on in a game I didn’t see any of that (poor body language), The form that (Treloar) was in in the first 10 weeks of the season before he hurt his ankle was some of the best footy that he’s ever played, and he was just amazing for our team, so I’m backing him to get back into that form. He’s been a class player his whole career and you don’t just lose that overnight. We’re all going to back him in to get back to his best and hopefully that comes Saturday night.”
Bontempelli, named the AFL Players Association MVP last week, is racing the clock to be fit to tackle Port after hurting his knee against the Lions. The skipper was on the bench in the frantic final few minutes, but scans on Monday revealed no structural damage. Macrae, an All-Australian midfielder this year, said Bontempelli would do everything required to be ready for the game.
