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Scans clear Marcus Bontempelli of serious damage, but Western Bulldogs teammate Cody Weightman to miss

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Catherine HealeyThe West Australian
Cody Weightman (left) won’t play in Saturday’s preliminary final.
Camera IconCody Weightman (left) won’t play in Saturday’s preliminary final. Credit: Simon Santi/The West Australian

The Western Bulldogs will give star Marcus Bontempelli every opportunity to play in Saturday night’s preliminary final against Port Adelaide, but the news isn’t good for young Cody Weightman.

Weightman was subbed out of the win over Brisbane and has officially been diagnosed with concussion - meaning he must be sidelined for at least 12 days.

“During the half time break we made the decision to remove him from the game,” Bulldogs head of medicine Chris Bell said.

“Subsequent testing has confirmed he does have some low-level concussion symptoms. He won’t play this week, but we’ll monitor Cody in the next couple of days to determine his availability.”

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Bontempelli landed awkwardly in the dying minutes of the dramatic one-point win over Brisbane and finished the game on the bench.

But the skipper remains a chance to travel to Adelaide to take on the Power, according to club president Ameet Bains.

Marcus Bontempelli was injured in the dying minutes of the win over Brisbane.
Camera IconMarcus Bontempelli was injured in the dying minutes of the win over Brisbane. Credit: Bradley Kanaris/via AFL Photos

“We had some really positive news today… he’s got a bit of soreness,” Bains said.

“He was a bit tender, we’ve got to manage that through. But he is improving day by day.”

Bains confirmed scans showed there was no damage to Bontempelli’s PCL.

“It’s really just a case of how his leg responds to the soreness in the coming days,” he said.

“We’re a lot more hopeful today than we were yesterday.”

Teammate Taylor Duryea was quick to poke fun at his injured skipper on Monday.

“He was limping around, he’s trying to get some sympathy from everyone,” Duryea said with a smile.

“Naturally, he’s sore, it’s only two days post-game.”

The loss of Weightman is just another blow for the Bulldogs who have been hit by the hardest travel schedule of any side this finals series.

Playing their elimination final in Tasmania, the Dogs then flew north to Brisbane to face the Lions before jumping on a plane and heading to Perth to begin quarantine — should they advance to the September 25 grand final.

Marcus Bontempelli, centre, takes a break with teammates in Perth quarantine.
Camera IconMarcus Bontempelli, centre, takes a break with teammates in Perth quarantine. Credit: Simon Santi/The West Australian

But they still need to jump back on a plane and play a preliminary final against Port Adelaide this weekend first; something Kane Cornes says will be too much for the side to overcome.

“If you were Ken Hinkley, that (semi final) is exactly what I wanted to see,” Cornes said on SEN.

“You’ve got Bontempelli, who knows? Sore? Whether he’s going to get up, you’ve got Cody Weightman who brings the energy, he can’t play and you’ve got a game going down to the wire.

“Then the Dogs have got to jump on a plane to Perth, then come back to Adelaide after being to Tasmania and Brisbane... it couldn’t be set up better for Ken Hinkley and Port Adelaide.

Bulldogs players take a break in Perth quarantine.
Camera IconBulldogs players take a break in Perth quarantine. Credit: Simon Santi/The West Australian

“I get the feeling that may have been the Dogs’ grand final.

“It’s going to be really difficult for them to get up on Saturday night.”

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