AFL 2025; Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli to start contract talks
There's no anxiety for Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli, who won't rush to sign a new contract but is ready to get 'rolling' on talks that will ramp up next week after a series of early season interruptions.
One of the best players in the AFL, if not the best, Bontempelli, 29, is off contract in October and yet to ink his next deal despite the season reaching its halfway mark.
Bontempelli's last contract was a four-year deal signed in 2021, but amid a changed landscape of longer contracts taking player commitments beyond 2030 for increased money, the six-time All-Australian remains unfazed by the lack of movement.
Having endured a pre-season calf injury that delayed his entry to 2025 until round 7, Bontempelli put other matters, including his off-season engagement, ahead of contract talks.
But now he's ready to get going and seal his future, which should come as welcome relief to Bulldogs fans.
'It's going well – obviously, it's getting to the point now where things will start to open up,' Bontempelli said.
'There was a lot going on in my life early on in the season and hence why – probably no different to other years – I took my time a little bit with it.
'But those conversations are definitely starting to take place, pretty much as of next week, so the ball can well and truly get rolling with that.'
The six-time best and fairest winner also played a straight bat when asked about reports that suggested Collingwood would launch an audacious bid to lure him to the Magpies.
'That information never really came to me at all, to be honest,' Bontempelli said.
Things are stabilising at the Bulldogs with the return of troubled teammate Jamarra Ugle-Hagan to the club, and training this week, which excited the skipper who was reluctant to talk about a playing return.
'Ultimately, I want him to just enjoy being back in the environment,' he said.
'Hopefully, getting to the stage in the not-too-distant future where he can look at playing again.'
Originally published as Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli to open contract talks next week
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Herald Sun
34 minutes ago
- Herald Sun
West Australia left seeing red in Perth State of Origin blunder, rugby league, AFL, NSW Blues, Queensland Maroons
Don't miss out on the headlines from NRL. Followed categories will be added to My News. Oh WA media, give it a rest will you? Like it or not, rugby league is here to stay. The state's paper The West Australian did its best this week to try to make citizens forget one of the country's biggest sporting spectacles was happening in the heart of their city, State of Origin. That didn't exactly work out how they'd hoped. FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every game of every round in the 2025 NRL Telstra Premiership, LIVE with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer. The paper virtually refused to promote the game at all in the lead-up, with only a small story at the back-end of the sport section on Monday, and not a single mention of it at all one day out. The event was also missing from Channel 7's news bulletin. The 'State of Origin's back' header finally appeared on the front page on Wednesday, which at first glance was a nod to the game. But on closer look it appeared to poke fun at the event, promoting WA's Fremantle Dockers against Victoria's Essendon Bombers clash on Thursday night instead. Not to mention the strategic placement of their only game day story beside the ads for escort services. But not even The West Australian's blatant disregard and mockery of rugby league was enough to deter its state from churning out in numbers for Wednesday night's blockbuster. Of the 57,000 crowd in the downpour of rain at Optus stadium — which was almost a 62,000 sellout — around 47,000 were Perth locals. Ironically the next night, for The West's 'state of origin' battle between Fremantle and Essendon, the AFL could only manage 37,570 fans at the same venue. The best the paper could do? A salty response the next morning: 'One bunch of East Coasters beat another at rugby in Perth last night.' That's got to feel like a bit of egg on your face. But it seems not much will change as the state media continues to virtually deny the code exists despite growing admiration for it among fans and the announcement of new NRL franchise the Perth Bears coming in 2027. The angst is possibly the ugly ramification of a rift between Seven West media boss Kerry Stokes and the NRL's Peter V'landys, as well as the media organisation's bid to reduce any threats to stay atop the code war in an AFL dominated region. V'landys recently appointed former West editor Anthony De Ceglie as the inaugural Bears chief executive to overlook the new franchise's success in the state. That may not be as difficult a job as the newspaper wants the country to believe, with Wednesday's game bringing in almost 200,000 Perth TV viewers atop the crowd, proving broadcast interest is all on the rise. The paper's editor Chris Dore was adamant when he told The Sydney Morning Herald the appetite for rugby league was non-existent in WA. 'No one outside of rugby league writers in Sydney cares. The point is rugby league is simply not a mainstream sport in this town,' Dore said. 'Just the facts. Good on them for having a crack here. We have nothing against the game despite the carry-on from [Peter] V'landys' acolytes in the Sydney media about our coverage. 'It's just not remotely main game and never will be.' But the numbers say otherwise Chris. Don't fight it, this is happening It's time to accept WA craves rugby league. Originally published as West Australia left seeing red in State of Origin blunder
News.com.au
40 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Waverley Park: AFL likely to snap up historic Hawks' home
Melbourne's historic Waverley Park may not be lost to football, with the AFL firmly in the race to purchase the venue from Hawthorn. It would be the league's second major piece of infrastructure, following their purchase of Marvel Stadium in Docklands for more than $30m in 2016. Expressions of interest for the property closed on April 3, and a deal is expected to be finalised within a matter of days. Actor Shane Jacobson reveals plans after buying country Vic pub Industry sources have indicated the property had attracted significant interest, but the AFL was the frontrunner. They also confirmed the sales price would likely fall in the $10m to $20m range. Hawthorn purchased the ground for just $1 in 2006, with the club set to cash in big-time on any sale. Commercial real estate agency Colliers' director Ben Baines, Victorian chief executive Rob Joyes and executive Lucas Soccio, who have the listing, declined to comment. The offering includes the Hawks' soon-to-be former training and administrative headquarters set within the within the Sir Kenneth Luke Stand, with the club set to move to a purpose-built new Dingley Village site this year. Features of Waverley Park include a full-size MCG-specification oval on the title, a gym, 25m-long heated indoor pool, running track, medical treatment rooms and 48 basement car spaces. But the listing does not include the famous oval that hosted more than 730 AFL and VFL games, including the 1991 AFL grand final. While the venue once had a capacity of 72,000 people, much of the stadium has since been demolished and is now surrounded by a housing estate. The AFL said only on Friday night that it was always looking for more facilities to accommodate the growth of the game. 'The AFL has targeted having 10 million attendees at AFL/AFLW games, events or festivals, two million AFL club members and one million participants and in order to achieve the target for participation we need two ovals a week every week for the next five years,' AFL spokesman Jay Allen said. 'We are always looking for ovals, either already in the system that we can continue to use for football, or new greenfield developments so we can continue to expand the space we need to accommodate the strong national growth in people playing our game.' Former footballer John Rombotis debuted at Waverley Park for Fitzroy in 1995, and had one of his best games in the AFL with Port Adelaide at the ground in 1997. Rombotis, now a real estate agent, said it was good to see the AFL taking an interest in the old ground – and noted that a purchase price under $20m would be just a fraction of what they were making at Marvel Stadium each year. Waverley Park also hosted the 2000 VFA/VFL premiership match, the last official game played there, and a KISS concert in the 1980s.
Herald Sun
an hour ago
- Herald Sun
Watch every match from Emerging Matildas and Emerging Socceroos Championships
The nation's footballing talents of the future will return to KommunityTV screens in July, but with a new name and new purpose. It is the second-straight year KommunityTV and News Corp Australia has partnered with Football Australia to bring the nation's flagship underage national championships to life on the small screen. Those tournaments have been given a new lease on life in 2025 with the creation of the Emerging Matildas Championships and Emerging Socceroos Championships. The Emerging Socceroos Championships will take place at the Home of the Matildas in Melbourne from July 6-11, while the Emerging Matildas Championships take over Sydney's Valentines Sports Park from July 15-20. It's not just a name change according to former Matilda and Football Australia interim CEO Heather Gariock. 'This is about more than a name, it's about delivering a high-performance environment that identifies, nurtures, and prepares the next generation of elite Australian footballers, coaches, and match officials,' she said. What hasn't changed is our level of coverage. KommunityTV will exclusively live stream every match from both tournaments, with more than 170 games of football played across the two weeks of action. 'We're very pleased to continue our partnership with KommunityTV in 2025, providing live streaming of every match to ensure families, friends, and fans across the country can follow the action and support their local talent,' Garriock said. 'This partnership plays a vital role in connecting communities and giving these young players a platform to shine.' HOW TO WATCH LIVE KommunityTV will be the only place you can watch all of the action from both the Emerging Matildas and Emerging Socceroos Championships, with the tournament live streamed across all of our News Corp Australia digital mastheads. We're keeping it simple for the two week-long tournaments. Each day's live action and action replays will be housed in individual stories, with the links included below on the eve of each day's action. Alternatively, you can use the video player on your local KommunityTV homepage by going to throughout the tournament. Use the live stream schedules below so you know what day your team is playing during the week. Only News Corp Australia full digital subscribers can watch the action from the tournament. Use our daily stream links to sign up and watch it LIVE. WATCH THE EMERGING MATILDAS AND SOCCEROOS LIVE Tournament schedules will be released shortly WHY ARE THE EMERGING CHAMPIONSHIPS ARE IMPORTANT? The tournaments have been a proven breeding ground of Australia's top football talents, and provide the perfect springboard for the next generation to hit the global stage. This has only been strengthened by the introduction of a more cohesive national pathway to the Socceroos and Matildas teams. The tournament has also adopted a number of technical advancements in the past year with data-driven performance analysis, expanded competition formats, a national talent identification strategy and the inclusion of more target awards including a tournament Golden Boot, player of the final and fair play award. 'The transformation of the CommBank Emerging Matildas and CommBank Emerging Socceroos Championships reflects Football Australia's commitment to building world-class development pathways that align directly with our senior national teams,' Garriock said. The pressure will be on NSW Metro's stellar girls football program after the sky blues took out both the Under-15 and Under-16 age group titles at the National Youth Championships last year. One side who will be determined to press their case for a national title is the Northern NSW girls who managed to hold their gloves up against their high-powered rivals in last year's decider. In the boys NSW Metro and Victoria shared the national honours last year after the sky blues came from behind to topple rivals Queensland in the decider. The Victorian boys were completely unstoppable in the Under-15s tournament, going through undefeated and will hope most players back up for a run at the Under-16 title in 2025. Live stream schedules for the girls tournament will be announced in late June, while the boys tournament will be released in early July. Originally published as 2025 FA youth champs: Watch every match from Emerging Matildas and Emerging Socceroos Championships
