Captain Pat, the Bont and two of Australian comedy greats logged into a Zoom call. The friendships formed could have a big influence on the Western Bulldogs this season.
The Western Bulldogs skipper is not just a Cummins fan, however. He knows better than most what makes the Australian captain tick and has applied some of the valuable lessons he gleaned off Cummins when they got to know each other at the end of 2021.
Pat Cummins and Marcus Bontempelli met through a leadership program run by Aleda. TV personalities Rob Sitch and Andy Lee were the other participants in a program facilitated by Matt Wadewitz and former AFL footballer Luke Ball.The fresh-faced quick has also resisted external pressure to conform to what others say his role should be, or revert to former players’ ideals. And he has walked the talk too, showing mental resilience and skill to perform when his country has needed him most.
Before his teammates left for their end-of-season break, Bontempelli made it clear he expected them to start preparing for 2024 on day one of the off-season. “I’ve always definitely been a lead-by-example guy, than a more forceful-voice guy. That’s something I’ve had to do better and almost undertake the responsibility to do,” Bontempelli said.
He admits that 2023 became a grind at times as two steps back seemed to follow each step forward made by the team, through an ill-timed injury or a close loss. He does not want a repeat performance.“It’s always trying to find that really nice happy medium of high expectations, but high fun, and enjoyment and continuing to try and work at both,” Bontempelli said.
Naturally empathetic and supportive, Bontempelli says he is increasingly willing to have more confronting conversations with his teammates if and when necessary. He wasn’t afraid to express his view on potential barriers to success that drifted into the Bulldogs’ operation last season.“‘Bevo’ is such a good manager of people and when it comes to his willingness to help people, to take more stress or things off their plate … in a period of time it ended up overloading him. That’s my opinion,” Bontempelli said.
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