Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli has hit back at Bailey Smith after the Geelong star fired an unprompted shot at his old club ahead of their big AFL clash.
Moments after Smith had been high among the Cats’ best in their epic Saturday night win over Collingwood, he contrasted the atmosphere of a packed MCG to the Bulldogs’ win over Port Adelaide earlier in the day.
Whereas Smith played in front of more than 80,000 fans, the Bulldogs-Port game featured less than 5000 because of building works at the Ballarat venue.
“It’s beautiful … I’m not getting that at Ballarat,” Smith told Fox Footy after Geelong’s nail-biting 13.12 (90) to 12.15 (87) triumph.
Smith joined Geelong from the Bulldogs in last year’s trade period and he is due to face his old club on May 22 at GMHBA Stadium.
Bulldogs skipper Bontempelli on Sunday gave a cheeky return of serve to Smith, his teammate of six years.
“It’s nice to know we’re still on Bailey’s mind,” Bontempelli told the Seven Network.
“You know, he’s still thinking about us even at another team.
“In the end, there’s probably a few less people down in Ballarat for him to flip the bird to.
“So maybe that’s why he’s a little bit disappointed.”
Smith wasn’t finished, later posting a fishing emoji to his Instagram story, implying Bontempelli had taken the bait.
Smith is relishing his new home and has not shied from controversy, fined twice already this season for flipping the bird at opposition fans.
But the midfielder also continues to walk the walk with a game-high 34 possessions against Collingwood, while Cats captain Patrick Dangerfield was best afield after his outstanding last term.
Dangerfield was pivotal in the Cats rallying from 20 points down in the third term to be 17 up late in the last term.
Collingwood then stormed home and fell short by three points, with Jack Crisp’s shot at goal after the final siren only scoring a behind.
Dangerfield’s ferocious attack on the ball had Cats coach Chris Scott comparing him to a New Zealand rugby legend.
“He looked like Jonah Lomu there at one stage,” Scott said.
“He can attack the ball in the air, but that ground-level stuff, I’m a bit biased – I like those players, the (Jordan) De Goey-type players, powerful, bull-at-a-gate.”
Collingwood coach Craig McRae jokingly feared he might have poked the bear before the game.
“I stole his park before the game and he wasn’t happy. I blame myself – he’s a bloody good player, isn’t he,” McRae said.
“He’s a battering ram. He just bee-lines you and runs through you.
“Right now, he’s just an igniter … you need big players to stand up in big moments and he was fantastic.”
The Cats lost big man Rhys Stanley to a hamstring early in the match and Scott said Mark Blicavs was “critical” in replacing him at the ruck contests.
