David King says that young Western Bulldogs star Marcus Bontempelli should spend longer periods of matches inside attacking 50, believing he can emulate the scoreboard impact of Richmond’s Dustin Martin.
The 21-year-old was sensational for the Dogs in their narrow two point loss to the Giants in Canberra on Friday night, kicking three goals alongside 22 disposals and seven tackles.
Two of Bontempelli’s majors came during the Bulldogs dominant second quarter, where they managed to turn a three goal deficit into a nine point half-time lead, with the midfielder showing too much class for GWS defender Adam Tomlinson.
The two-time North Melbourne premiership player says that based on Bontempelli’s display at Manuka Oval, the Bulldogs should aim to have him spend more time forward and make his impact on the scoreboard even greater than it is now.
“(Bontempelli) showed that 25 per cent (of games) going forward is not enough,” said King on SEN’s Crunch Time.
“Maybe he should be more like a Dusty Martin, maybe he should be a 40 per cent forward.”
Bontempelli told Crunch Time that his role will change depending what the Bulldogs need most at different points throughout a match – something he is happy to follow as long as he is helping his team out.
“We always value the flexibility side of the team and in what we can provide in different areas of the game,” he said.
“With the amount of quality mids that we have at the club, it is important that we can all share time at the club in different positions.
“Sometimes I end up spending more time forward than other games but it seems a little game dependent.
“I just hope I can provide enough pressure and scoreboard impact throughout the game if that’s the case.”
Bontempelli has averaged 24 disposals, four marks, six tackles and nearly two goals a game for the Dogs this season, and is ranked third in the competition for total inside 50 entries.