Bulldogs skipper Marcus Bontempelli has hit out at the club’s fans after video footage emerged of the club’s stars copping withering abuse as they walked off the pitch after their shock loss to the West Coast Eagles on Sunday afternoon.
With their season on the line, coachย Luke Beveridge’s side turned in a listless performance at Marvel Stadium and were ambushed by a team that had won just four of their previous 47 games.
Trailing by nine points at three-quarter time, West Coast finished stronger than their far more highly rated opposition with the first four goals of the last term to score a famous 14.8 (92) to 12.13 (85) triumph that will go down as the season’s biggest upset.
The Bulldogs will need to defeat Geelong at GMHBA Stadium next Saturday night to have any chance of featuring in the finals for a fifth straight season.
Footage uploaded to social media after the match showed fans screaming abuse at Bulldogs stars as they left the pitchย in ugly scenes reminiscent of Carlton supporters’ behaviour earlier this year.
Show your true colours, pal!’ said one voice. ‘Do you accept that s**t, do ya?’
Another voice screams: ‘Pathetic! Pathetic! F**king pathetic! Bullshit! Put your heads down! Heads down! Pathetic!’
A different torrent of abuse is then seemingly directed towards underperforming coach Luke Beveridge: ‘Get out of the club – you f**king ruined it!’
Bontempelli had a message for the supporters who unleashed on the team.
‘It’s never justified,’ he said.
‘You understand there are a wide range of people who support you and are emotionally invested in the game.ย You don’t accept it but you understand why people are so passionate.
‘You want people to support you and be proud of your efforts. I understand it but I don’t accept it.’
Beveridge, who coached the Bulldogs to the 2016 premiership, is contracted until the end of 2025.
But the heat will come onto Beveridge if the Bulldogs fail to make finals this year with a star-studded list headlined by Brownlow Medal favourite Marcus Bontempelli.