WESTERN Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli is a free agent this year and yet to re-sign with the club.<\/p>\n
David King has posed a simple question: “What if he says no?”<\/p>\n
What if arguably the greatest Bulldog of all-time, captain of the club and six-time best and fairest winner decides that his best chance to win a premiership is elsewhere?<\/p>\n
King, while not saying in any way that this could happen, posed the scenario on Fireball Friday.<\/p>\n
“This is a deeper question again… Marcus Bontempelli is a free agent at the end of this season. He’s won six best and fairests, he’s a six-time All-Australian, he’s seen what’s happening with Jamarra Ugle-Hagan, he’s seen what happened with Bailey Smith last year,” King told SEN Breakfast.<\/p>\n
“He’s seen long-time teammates like Jack Macrae and Caleb Daniel be moved on last year.<\/p>\n
“There’s nothing more that this guy is chasing than premierships. He’s already won the one. He’s done it all in the game. It wouldn’t be a financial discussion. He will be well paid wherever he is.<\/p>\n
“What if he says no? What if he says ‘I’m off’?<\/p>\n
“It would be the biggest decision we’ve seen made by one player for probably thirty years. Patrick Dangerfield was big, but he was essentially coming home.<\/p>\n
“We saw Lance Franklin coming and Gary Ablett was different circumstances,” King added later.<\/p>\n
“If Bont doesn’t see this group winning another premiership, maybe he says ‘You know what, it’s been great, we’ve been terrific for each other’ \u2013 and I know he loves the club, but the decision is still there to be made. He hasn’t signed.<\/p>\n
“If it’s halfway through the season and there’s all these other things bubbling and it looks like another year is gone \u2013 what if he says no? What if he does?<\/p>\n
“He would only be playing for premierships now, wouldn’t he? That’s the only motivation.”<\/p>\n
Kane Cornes personally hopes Bontempelli remains a one-club player.<\/p>\n
“I hope he doesn’t [leave],” Cornes said.<\/p>\n
“It would be chaos and carnage for the Dogs. It hasn’t felt like a happy group to me. There’s always a Jamarra or a Josh Dunkley or a Bailey Smith.<\/p>\n
“It just feels like year after year they can’t get a clean run at it. I don’t know what the reason it is. Everyone says the players love Luke Beveridge.<\/p>\n
“I just hope he stays. He’s the greatest Bulldog of all time and I want to see the greatest Bulldog of all time finish his career being chaired off as a Bulldog.<\/p>\n
“But maybe that’s not the way young players think now. They all follow American sports. There’s very few Kobe Bryant, Steph Curry types that stay with their team.”<\/p>\n
“Who would be chasing him? Everything throw up Collingwood, let’s just say it’s Carlton. Wherever he goes, they would be premiership favourites,” King said.<\/p>\n
“Imagine having Bont and Cripps or Bont and Daicos. Wherever he goes, they would become premiership favourites.<\/p>\n
“This is going to be tracked heavily. It’s the biggest signature in footy right now. Does he sign mid-year, does he hold out? We will monitor this.<\/p>\n
“He might say ‘I love the way Hawthorn is going about it. I might\u00a0go there’.”<\/p>\n