Latest news with #MarcusBontempelli
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Revealed: Why a premiership-winning footy coach was left 'absolutely filthy' with US streaming giant Netflix ahead of crunch AFL fixture
AFL boss Chris Fagan was reportedly left 'absolutely filthy' after it emerged that he was not informed that Netflix camera crews would be entering his side's inner sanctum. It was announced earlier this year that the US streaming giant was set to produce a brand new series, akin to it's highly successful Drive to Survive Formula One series, focusing on all things going on in the AFL. The news that the production company would be heading Down Under had excited many, with Brisbane, Fremantle, GWS and Gold Coast all set to feature alongside the Western Bulldogs in the series. It is understood, according to reports in July from SEN, that the docuseries was set to follow individual players, including the likes of Marcus Bontempelli and Toby Greene. But when production teams turned up at The Gabba, premiership-winning coach Fagan was not happy. In fact, according to Channel Seven journalist Caroline Wilson, the legendary footy boss had been left fuming and had he known about Netflix's proposed plans to film his side before hand he would not have agreed to the project. reportedly left 'absolutely filthy' 'AFL staff themselves have now gone on the road with this production crew because they have ruffled feathers,' Wilson said during Monday night's episode of The Agenda Setters. 'But the really strong scenes took place at the Gabba. They (Netflix) turned up the week of the Q-Clash, Chris Fagan was absolutely filthy, said he had no idea that they were coming on board, and had he known, he wouldn't have agreed to it. 'I think he [Fagan] agreed [to host the production company] after a conversation with (footy boss) Danny Daly. Perhaps he hadn't really been paying attention, but I don't think he was thrilled. 'But they've left the Gabba now, they won't be back. 'They're at the Gold Coast — I think there was some dissatisfaction too at the Gold Coast, at how many players they wanted to get involved. Certainly Touk Miller's involved there.' The AFL have previously engaged film agencies to produce television content on the league. The 'Making Their Mark' docu-series, launched in 2021 on Amazon, was perhaps the most notable of those projects. It featured footy greats, Nic Naitanui and Eddie Betts and went behind the scenes at the Crows and Giants. Channel Seven reporter Wilson (pictured) claimed that staff from the AFL have been monitoring the production company after they 'ruffled a few feathers' It comes as series like Drive to Survive, Full Swing and Six Nations: Full Contact have taken huge steps in helping sports like Formula One, Golf and rugby union grow their audiences globally. Fagan, meanwhile, admitted he was disappointed with his forward line following Brisbane's two-point defeat by Sydney on Saturday. Despite a late fightback, the Lions were eclipsed by the Swans at the beginning of the second-half. 'Sixty-five entries. It's a lot, isn't it? It's a lot to lose,' the footy coach said, reflecting on how his side were wayward with their goal kicking. 'We did a lot of things right, but we just didn't win the ground ball in our front half, and they were able to bounce off it and that's the reason they won the game.'
Yahoo
31-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Rampant Bulldogs slay Giants in AFL finals warning
The Western Bulldogs have made an emphatic statement in their bid for an AFL finals berth as Marcus Bontempelli and Tim English led an 88-point rout of GWS. Aaron Naughton and Sam Darcy feasted on their engine room's dominance, combining for 10 goals in the Bulldogs' 19.18 (132) to 6.8 (44) victory at Marvel Stadium on Thursday night. Luke Beveridge's men entered the contest with huge queries over their ability to compete with the best, winning just one of nine previous encounters with top-eight teams. They provided some answers with a commanding performance - their second win over the Giants this season - that lifted them into eighth position ahead of the weekend's games. The Bulldogs (12-8) kicked 11 of the first 12 goals on their way to a 67-point lead before halftime and were never challenged by a lacklustre opponent. Key statistics told the tale; the Dogs dominated contested possession (137-86), clearances (41-24) and inside-50s (58-36). Captain Bontempelli (27 disposals, nine clearances) was outstanding and ruck star English (20 touches, 11 marks, two goals) was everywhere as Tom Liberatore, Matt Kennedy and Ed Richards all got their hands dirty. Key forwards Naughton and Darcy (five goals each) fired in attack with Lachlan McNeil (three). GWS (13-7) lacked spark and were unable to overcome the loss of suspended skipper Toby Greene as they suffered their first defeat in almost two months. Lachie Ash (36) and Lachie Whitfield (29) had plenty of touches but the Giants had few players who could hold their heads high in the heaviest loss of coach Adam Kingsley's three-season tenure. Jake Stringer (eight touches, one goal) had a quiet night against one of his former clubs and was jeered by Bulldogs fans throughout. Toby McMullin's ankle injury forced his substitution before halftime and added to the Giants' woes. GWS produced a remarkable 79-point turnaround in their derby win over Sydney last round but never looked likely to pull off a comeback against the Bulldogs after another slow start. "We played maybe our worst half in three years."Tom Green addresses the Giants' poor start against the Dogs.#AFLDogsGiants — AFL (@AFL) July 31, 2025 Darcy kicked two early goals as the Dogs controlled territory - 20-5 inside-50s - and piled on 6.5 to 1.2 in the opening term. The Giants' only goal in that time came through Jake Riccardi in unusual circumstances, when play was allowed to continue in the vicinity of a second ball that was thrown from the crowd onto the field. Ever see two footballs on the field at the same time? 😯#AFLDogsGiants — AFL (@AFL) July 31, 2025 The landslide continued in the second quarter and a run of eight consecutive goals to the home side blew the contest wide open. The Dogs led 12.9 to 3.2 at the main break and cruised to victory in the second half. Riccardi and Aaron Cadman finished with two goals each for GWS.
Yahoo
24-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
What Luke Beveridge thinks about Chris Grant's no-show
There's long been rumours of a rift, but Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge says it would have been great to acknowledge Chris Grant's contribution to the club at Monday night's gala celebration. The Bulldogs named their five greatest players at Monday's gala, with Ted Whitten coming in at No.1, ahead of current captain Marcus Bontempelli, Grant, Gary Dempsey and Doug Hawkins. Grant was a notable absentee from the celebrations, with the Bulldogs great still reportedly feeling wounded from his sudden exit from the club eight months ago. 25 of the greatest all together. ❤️ — Western Bulldogs (@westernbulldogs) July 21, 2025 The 52-year-old, who played 341 games for the Bulldogs, was in the director of football role before leaving abruptly in November last year following a reported falling out with Beveridge. It ended Grant's 30-year association with the Bulldogs. Grant has remained silent about the issue that resulted in him leaving, with the club great keen to avoid adding fuel to the fire. Beveridge addressed Grant's absence from the gala when questioned about it during his weekly press conference on Thursday. "It would have been great to have Chris there, for him, especially when you consider the impact he's had on our football club," Beveridge said. "Even in the struggling times when the club wasn't financial and our survival was questioned, Granty was a critical figure on the playing field and through that journey to show his loyalty. "So it would have been great to have been able to acknowledge Chris as part of that recognised 25, but unfortunately he wasn't there. "It didn't diminish the celebration, we celebrated everyone that was there."The ninth-placed Bulldogs (10-8) will be aiming to keep their finals hopes alive when they take on struggling Essendon (6-11) at Marvel Stadium on Friday night. This week's re-signing of Bontempelli until the end of 2029 has given the Bulldogs a pep in their step, and the skipper used the moment to signal his wish for Port Adelaide star Zak Butters to join him at the kennel. Butters, who grew up a Bulldogs fan, will become a free agent at the end of 2026, and Beveridge doesn't mind his players doing their utmost to lure rival stars their way. "I can't stop our players from talking about who they'd love to have as teammates," Beveridge said. "But I've got a personal approach to it. I spoke about Matt Rowell the other week because I knew he was going to re-sign at Gold Coast. "So it wasn't like a public overture. As far as a player like Zak, who every club has a great opinion of, I don't want to be over the top with anything in regards to him. "He's still contracted, so the ball's in Port Adelaide's court."
News.com.au
24-07-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
‘Couldn't have chosen worse teams': Footy fans revolt over new AFL ‘Drive to Survive' series
AFL fans will soon be able to sink their teeth into the behind-the-scenes drama of the sport, with the production company behind landmark documentary Drive to Survive beginning work on an AFL series. London-based media company Box to Box Films is currently in Australia and it is already working with five AFL clubs for a show to be aired on Amazon. FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every match of every round in the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1. It's understood Fremantle, GWS, Western Bulldogs, Gold Coast and Brisbane Lions are in the process of allowing cameras into their changerooms, training sessions and team talks, providing a rare glimpse into the life of a footy player, according to SEN. Instead of focusing on the team, the new series will instead follow around a star player on each side, with Marcus Bontempelli and Toby Greene two of the confirmed stars of the new series. However, fans aren't happy, with Melburnians kicking up a stink that only one of their teams features … shock horror. 'Couldn't have chosen worse teams if they tried,' one fan wrote in response to SEN's announcement on Tuesday. 'Great strategy to choose the clubs with the lowest audiences!!!!' another added. 'So, no big clubs, hey. Show must be for non-ratings period.' But SEN's Sam Edmund says it shouldn't matter which players the series follows. 'If the stories are well told we'll be watching regardless,' he wrote in response to the criticism levelled at the new series. The series will focus on the last six weeks of the regular season and the finals run. So the clubs chosen, which range from 2nd to 9th on the table, make complete sense. The Lions are the reigning premiers, while the other four teams all face make or break matches in the coming weeks. Box to Box Films took the sports world by storm with the F1 series Drive to Survive in 2019. As of March 2025, 'Drive to Survive', has had over 90,000,000 viewing hours since it was launched in 2019, according to Netflix's latest audience report. And as the AFL looks to grow its audience internationally, it will be hoping the new series can do just that by showcasing the incredible sport to the world. Back in 2021, the AFL tried a similar idea. The 'Making Their Mark' docu-series was released on Amazon and featured Eddie Betts and Nic Naitanui, while also showcasing the Crows and GWS. And while Fremantle star Sam Switowski told the West Australian he isn't one of the stars set to feature, he believes it will be great for the sport. 'I can't say it will involve me too much,' Switkowski told The West Australian. 'I haven't noticed any extra cameras or anything like that, so I'm not too sure who will be in it. 'It will be good for the club, good for the sport as a whole, to be able to see a little bit more of what goes on for our fans and members.'
News.com.au
24-07-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Luke Beveridge happy for players to publicly recruit opposition players to the Western Bulldogs
Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge is happy for his players to publicly court recruiting targets, including Port Adelaide star Zak Butters, but he won't be joining in. The premiership coach's call came as Beveridge declared his team's defensive weaknesses were not as bad as critics have suggested, pointing to it as a historical strength with the 'reality' of needing to win every game to play finals ever present. Newly re-signed Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli this week singled out Butters, who will become a free agent at the end of the 2026 season and grew up as a Bulldogs supporter, as someone he'd like to join him at the Kennel. 'I love watching him as a footballer,' Bontempelli said, declaring as captain he felt getting involved in luring players to the club was part of his role. 'If we happen to end up in the same team, I'd be pretty happy about that too.' Beveridge said he wouldn't try to curtail his players making such desires public but wouldn't go 'over the top' himself despite recently confessing to conversations with Gold Coast star Matt Rowell before he stayed loyal to the Suns. 'I can't stop our players talking about who they would like to have as teammates,' he said on Thursday. 'But I've got a personal approach, I spoke about Matt Rowell because I knew he was going to re-sign at Gold Coast, it wasn't like a public overture. 'But as far as a player like Zac, who every club has a great opinion of, I don't want to be over the top with anything in regards to him. He's still contracted, the ball is in Port Adelaide's court. 'But I can't stop our players expressing their desire.' The Bulldogs are chasing their tails to make the finals having beaten only one team above them on the ladder, with questions raised about their defensive deficiencies against the top teams. Beveridge conceded it was an area of improvement but said the systems were in place – it was just about execution – and could be corrected enough to get them the wins they need, starting with a Friday night showdown against Essendon. 'It's interesting, and sometimes little history lessons are important,' Beveridge said at his weekly press conference. 'If I asked you who was the best defensive team on aggregate, so conceding the least amount of points going into last year's finals series, do you know who it was? It was us. We were the best defensive team going into the finals last year. 'Has our philosophy and my philosophy and how we coach and teach the defensive system changed? Absolutely not. 'The execution is the responsibility of all of us. 'We weren't the best offensive team last year, but we are this year, so that's encouraging. 'You need a healthy blend and against the more high achieving teams, they have been able to score too heavily. 'We know we can improve. We seek that out.'
