Jack Macrae, Marcus Bontempelli and Josh Dunkley are flying but they don’t match the recent midfields of Geelong, Collingwood and St Kilda
The numbers say the Bulldogs’ midfield trio is the best in the game and, by Champion Data ranking points, they are the 10th-ranked combination since 2003. See the full list:
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Bulldogs Jack Macrae, Josh Dunkley and Marcus Bontempelli are the form midfield of the competition and, as far as their numbers go, rank as the 10th-best trio since 2003.
By Champion Data ranking points, Macrae (124.3), Dunkley (114.6) and Bontempelli (114.5) are the first, sixth and seventh-ranked midfielders in the game after 21 rounds.
Macrae, who has tallied the second-most disposals in the competition this year, has finished with 100 ranking points or more in 17 of his 20 games, passing the 120-point mark in 13 of them.
While Macrae leads the way, his star teammates aren’t far behind.
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Bontempelli has spent more time in the midfield this season — after being used for long stints forward over the past two years — and his numbers have spiked as a result.
The 23-year-old, who averaged 104 points per game in 2018, has finished with 120 ranking points more in eight occasions this year.
Dunkley was the one to start forward in 2019 but after a permanent move into the midfield in Round 7, the 190cm 22-year-old exploded, tallying more than 100 ranking points in 12 of the next 14 matches, including a huge 202-point performance in Round 17.
Jack Macrae
RANKING POINTS
100+: 17
120+: 13
150+: 3
AFL RANKINGS
Disposals — 2nd
Effective disposals — 2nd
Goal assists — 7th
Josh Dunkley
RANKING POINTS
100+: 12
120+: 7
150+: 3
AFL RANKINGS
Groundball-gets — 2nd
Contested possessions — 7th
Score involvements — 10th
Marcus Bontempelli
RANKING POINTS
100+: 12
120+: 8
150+: 2
AFL RANKINGS
Metres gained — 3rd
Score involvements — 3rd
Inside 50s — 4th
Luke Beveridge’s starting-midfield has been outstanding but in the past 17 seasons, there’s been nine better.
At the top of the list sit the 2012 Magpies, with Dane Swan (127.7), Scott Pendlebury (124.9) and Dayne Beams (123) all averaging more than 120 points per game.
In that season, Swan (1st), Beams (3rd), Pendlebury (5th) all ranked inside the top-five in the game for disposals and combined for 34 ranking-point tallies of 120 or more.
Their total sum of ranking points per game is 11.4 more than the second-placed Geelong midfield of 2010.
Gary Ablett (130.7), who finished with 120 ranking points or more in 13 games, including 203 against the Swans in Round 7, Joel Selwood (118.7) and Paul Chapman (117.8) combined for a sum of 367.2 — seven points more than the Ablett-led trio of the previous season.
In that year, Ablett averaged 141 ranking points per game — the highest of his career — to lead Joel Selwood (110.4) and Jimmy Bartel (109.2) to fourth spot.
Geelong feature in the top-10 for a third time with the combination of Ablett, Bartel and Joel Corey placing sixth on the list.
It’s no surprise the Cats won three flags between 2007 and 2011.
But they aren’t the only team to appear multiple times with the 2003 Magpies, led by Nathan Buckley’s 143-point average, coming in at ninth spot and three St Kilda’s triple-threats, all which feature star Nick Dal Santo, placing inside the top-10.