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Star pair clear air before bushfire clash

3 minute read

GWS star Toby Greene and Western Bulldogs skipper Marcus Bontempelli have cleared the air after last year's ugly incident at Giants Stadium.

TOBY GREENE.
TOBY GREENE. Picture: Matt King/Getty Images

Combative GWS star Toby Greene has cleared the air with Western Bulldogs skipper Marcus Bontempelli ahead of Friday night's AFL bushfire relief game.

Greene was fined $7500 for serious misconduct after he made contact with Bontempelli's face and pulled his hair in an ugly incident during the Giants' bruising elimination final win over the Dogs last season.

The pair will line up for Victoria against the All-Stars at Marvel Stadium and Greene revealed he had approached Bontempelli before Thursday's training session.

"I had a good chat with him just before and it's all good," Greene told reporters.

"We're teammates (now) and really looking forward to playing with him.

"... We were in the change rooms and it just happened naturally.

"Obviously it's something that might've got talked about but it's all on good terms now."

The fiery Giants forward has been a key player in the growing rivalry between the clubs, having been suspended for punching Caleb Daniel and fined for his hotly-debated karate-style kick to then Bulldog Luke Dahlhaus' face.

"I still might get a few boos from the Bulldogs supporters but that's fine," Greene said.

"I'm really looking forward to it.

"They obviously love their footy down here and it will be great to represent Victoria."

The Dogs were diplomatic following their brutal 58-point elimination final defeat at Giants Stadium but several players were privately seething at Greene's tactics.

Six months on from the incident, Bontempelli said he didn't feel awkward meeting his tormentor-turned-teammate and was happy to let bygones be bygones.

"Obviously you put the weapons down from a rivalry point of view, which wouldn't normally happen in the season," Bontempelli said.

"But we're all wearing the same jumper so I'm looking forward to the experience.

"We shook hands, said g'day and found out what's been going on.

"Now we're teammates for a little bit. It should be good."

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