YOUNG Western Bulldogs star Marcus Bontempelli says he will focus on his midfield game this year to help cover the loss of Tom Liberatore.
 
The Bulldogs' midfield took a hit over the off-season, with Liberatore ruled out for the year after undergoing a knee reconstruction and former captain Ryan Griffen joining Greater Western Sydney.   
 
Bontempelli, who was runner-up in last year's NAB AFL Rising Star Award, said he had joined the club's young onballers in pledging to cover the losses collectively this year.
 
"Even before Tommy went down we all had a shared idea of sharing the load a bit more and not relying on single players to carry a lot of the weight," he told AFL.com.au's First Bounce.
 
"I guess it'll come each week with which player is prepared to cop the attention and how much help we're willing to give him.
 
"For me at the moment, I spend more time in the midfield and then pinch hit up forward.
 
"Hopefully as I get older I'm able to get better at both and really develop in both areas."
 
Bontempelli averaged 16 possessions last season and booted 15 goals in 16 games, playing every match between rounds 10 and 23 to storm home in NAB AFL Rising Star calculations.
 
The No.4 draft pick paid credit to assistant coach and former Geelong midfielder Joel Corey for his immediate impact.
 
"Joel's still in pretty good nick after being out of the game for such a short amount of time, so when we got to body up and things like that it was almost like I was competing against a 10-year veteran," he said.
 
"So for me he was massive in a short space of time to be able to develop quickly."

Marcus Bontempelli is a $392,000 midfielder/forward in NAB AFL Fantasy this year. Set up a live draft and take on your mates in Fantasy Elite now