Marcus Bontempelli will captain the Western Bulldogs in its clash with Gold Coast at Ballarat’s Mars Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
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The smooth-moving midfield-forward will step-up in the absence of Easton Wood, who injured his hamstring in last week’s win over Carlton.
Many believe Bontempelli will be the next captain of the Bulldogs and he got an opportunity to lead the side against West Coast last season, at just 20 years of age.
Bontempelli found form last Friday after a slow start to the season, gathering 30 possessions and vying for best on ground honours with Carlton’s Patrick Cripps.
Lewis Young comes into the side to replace Wood.
Saturday will be Young’s first match for the season after playing seven in 2017. The 19-year-olds ability overhead impressed last year and while Wood has played up forward at times this season, Young will slot into a defensive post.
As for Gold Coast, it has made five changes to its line-up – four of which were forced due to injury.
Co-captains Tom Lynch (knee) and Steven May (finger) top the list of causalities while talented youngsters Brayden Fiorini and Jesse Lonergan have also been forced out of the side. Former Docker Michael Barlow continues to struggle for continuity in the twilight of his career, after being brought into the side last week after dominating in the NEAFL, he again finds himself dropped from the side.
The Suns have largely turned to youth with their replacements, bringing in Callum Ah Chee, Charlie Ballard, Michael Rischitelli, Brayden Crossley and Brad Scheer. Ballard and Crossley will debut for the club while Rischitelli is the only one of the inclusions to have played more than 30 games.
In the absence of the two captains, David Swallow will lead the side.
Lynch has been carrying injury for the past few weeks and would have continued playing had the club not made the decision to put him on ice, coach Stuart Dew said. Lynch will miss the Suns' next three matches due to a recurrence of the PCL problem that ended his 2017 campaign.
Dew said the call was made to rest Lynch out of concern for his future.
"Tom being tom, he'd roll out every week," Dew said.
"That's good at times, but sometimes you have to save the players. There comes a point where you have to look after he player.”
Dew said Lynch's knee was "the worst it's been" after he pulled up sore after last week. The injury will not require surgery.
TEAMS
BULLDOGS
B: Suckling, Naughton, Cordy
HB: Johannisen, Young, Crozier
C: Williams, Hunter, Richards
HF: Dunkley, Bontempelli, Wallis
F: Dahlhaus, Boyd, Gowers
FOLL: English, McLean, Macrae
I/C: Lipinski, Dale, Daniel, Jong
EMG: Trengove, Webb, Honeychurch, Smith
IN: Young
OUT: Wood
SUNS
B: Harbrow, Thompson, Joyce
HB: Weller, Spencer, Bowes
C: Rosa, Lyons, Sexton
HF: Ah Chee, Day, Young
F: Ainsworth, Martin, Ballard
FOLL: Witts, Miller, Swallow
I/C: Rischitelli, Crossley, Holman, Scheer
EMG: Hall, Leslie, Brodie, Willis
IN: Ah Chee, Ballard, Rischitelli, Crossley, Scheer
OUT: May, Lynch, Barlow, Lonergan, Fiorini