A new four-year deal for one of the Bulldogs' most beloved sons. 

After signing a deal to see him remain in the red, white and blue, Captain Marcus Bontempelli spoke to the media at Mission Whitten Oval. 

Here's what he had to say. 

On contract re-signing:

“Was it a relief? That probably wasn't my main emotion, to be honest.”

“It's not something I was really fretting about or too stressed about.”

“As you know, I took my time with it and sort of waited until obviously I could weigh up a lot of things in my life, had a bit going on, sort of in the early parts of the year and season.”

“I missed a bit of footy to kick things off, so I did want to get back to playing a bit and just have a few things calm down in my personal life.”

“So, was relief the main emotion? Probably not.”

“It’s probably more one of pride to know that I'll be here for, you know, at least another four years.”

“A place that I've clearly spent my whole career and something that, you know, you can't afford to sort of take for granted in the grand scheme of things.”

“Pretty grateful and appreciative of the Club and the opportunity they gave me to start with, and it's obviously nice to be continuing that for another few more.”

On the potential of going to another club:

“Not really, to be honest, it never really entered my mind.”

“I've obviously been asked, you know, a few times you might ask the question if we ever got approached by anyone else.”

“I think an element of you hopes people were intrigued or interested, and it makes you feel a bit better about yourself.”

“But to be honest, I never really considered going anywhere else.”

“It was always the Bulldogs, and that's how it stayed through the whole process.”

On being a one-club player:

“I think it's becoming more and more rare; that’s probably what’s special.”

“But even, you know, being a part of the Centenary Gala the other night, that probably gives you a greater appreciation for it.”

"When you see legends of yesteryear talk about their love and passion for the football club, it's a great reminder of probably where the game's come to, and where the Footscray Football Club has come to now in the modern age, and especially with the facility and the things that we're so blessed to have access to, it does remind you of how special and lucky you are to be a part of a family like the Bulldogs.”

“I think that's probably the thing that you feel when you walk into a room like that.”

“There's only so many players who are fortunate to play, you know, as long as I have now.”

“It's truly special to be able to do that in one place.”

On continuing to play under Bevo:

“Yeah, it was pretty considerable.”

“He's mentored me, coached me, and outside of my family, probably been one of the more constant figures in my life since I was 18.”

“You know, we've been through a lot together. He supported me through some challenges.”

“Hopefully he feels like I've helped him along the journey as well, but particularly for my football career, the freedom and the things he's probably taught me - probably more off the field in terms of how to approach your life, and from a character perspective of things that I'll, you know, really reflect on over the course of time.”

“I love being able to work closely with him and help sort of bring together the things that he designs up for the football club.”

On being named as the second-best Bulldog of the last 100 years:

“It still doesn't, you know, to be honest. It's hard to comprehend.”

"Maybe it's because I'm still playing and you're still very much in the cut and thrust of the season.”

“Tom (Liberatore) and I were talking about that the other day, you can't probably fully appreciate it while you're right in the emotion of this current season.”

“I think as I continue to age and sort of get through the rest of my career or continue to find more meaning.”

"Like I said, listening to some of the guys who spoke last night, Doug Hawkins, you know, Gary Dempsey, Kelvin Templeton, and these guys who talked about their love and affection for the football club. I hope and can see myself being, you know, that way in 20 or 30 years as well and being able to come back and reflect on the special times and memories I made here.”

“Hopefully there's a bunch more to come.”

On bridging the gap to the top teams:

“It's clearly the defensive side of the game where we really need to tighten up.”

"We've shown throughout the year that we're a capable scoring team. We've got plenty of guys who, especially in the front half, can contribute and obviously hit the scoreboard, but it's probably been on the way back.”

“We haven't been able to slow teams down enough, and it's been a lesson we've probably gotten on too many occasions this year.”

“But that probably is where we're sort of focused on, and I think every man and their dog sort of knows that if you look at our team and some of the numbers around our game, it's continuing to try and evolve that through this back half.”

“It's critical we do because it is down to that point of the season where, you know, we can't afford to drop really any more games if we give ourselves the best chance.”

“That's what we've been sort of reviewing and focusing on and really keen to hopefully get there on Friday.”