THE FANS have spoken and Western Bulldogs premiership prodigy Marcus Bontempelli will appear on the cover of the yet-to-be-released AFL Evolution video game.
Following a fan poll on AFL.com.au late last year, Dogs club champion Bontempelli received 23 per cent of the 128,000 votes cast by fans.
'The Bont' will be joined on the cover of AFL Evolution by Port Adelaide star Chad Wingard and Sydney youngster Isaac Heeney.
The front cover design was revealed on Thursday today by AFL licensee Tru Blu Entertainment, which is working on the production in conjunction with Wicked Witch Software.
AFL Evolution, which is scheduled to be released in the first half of the 2017 season, will be available on next-generation consoles PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC Steam.
In December, the AFL's then commercial operations manager Darren Birch said: "AFL Evolution will deliver a unique experience for footy fans, taking them to the heart of the action in a virtual footy world."
As part of the formulation of AFL Evolution, players at all 18 clubs participated in photo shoots in which 24 cameras simultaneously photographed them to create highly detailed likenesses.
AFL Players' Association communications manager Rebecca Chitty said the players were thrilled to be involved in the project.
"This generation of AFL footballers grew up playing video games and this is an opportunity to feature in one that’s sure to have footy fans highly engaged," Chitty said.
"Digital is an ever-evolving space and the players see this as just another way to grow the game by reaching out to new audiences and showcasing it on different platforms."
