AFL 2023: Can Marcus Bontempelli crown career with Brownlow win?
Marcus Bontempelli might already be the best Bulldog ever, and he could add a Brownlow Medal to his resume with Nick Daicos out. But he’s not over the line yet.
AFL
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Marcus Bontempelli has three more weeks left in the home-and-away season to steal the Brownlow Medal from Nick Daicos’s grasp.
If he can hit the line like Chautauqua he might just cap the debate about the greatest Western Bulldog of all time in the process.
Nick Daicos’s horribly-timed knee injury is terrible for the game and a young player who is so humble in victory and defeat.
But it sets up a Brownlow Medal race where he could have 25-28 Brownlow Medal votes – and a possible double-digit lead – before injury stops him in his tracks.
Based on the AFL Coaches votes, Bontempelli has five clear-cut 10-vote performances (which would likely each secure three Brownlow Medal votes) as well as two nine-vote tallies from the coaches.
Add Friday night’s masterclass against Richmond and he could easily have 25 votes.
It’s not enough to win the Brownlow on recent tallies, so games against Hawthorn, West Coast and Geelong are crucial for the Dogs’ finals hopes and his chances of winning his first Brownlow Medal with 30-plus votes.
Hawthorn tagger Finn Maginness has just taken down a banged-up Daicos.
Is he capable of playing on the big-bodied Bontempelli on Sunday?
If Bontempelli wins this season’s best-and-fairest (he is surely leading) and his first Brownlow Medal he would have five Charlie Sutton Medals, a premiership and the game’s biggest individual honour in his keeping at the age of 27.
It would equal the five Charlie Sutton Medals of Dogs Legends John Schulz and EJ Whitten.
Gary Dempsey has six best-and-fairests and a Brownlow but no flag, while Scott West has seven best-and-fairests and five All-Australians but no premiership or Brownlow.
Bontempelli, of course, missed the Norm Smith Medal in 2016 but for many has a “Rewatch” Norm Smith in the minds of those who believe he was that game’s best player after repeat viewings.
Bontempelli on Sunday assumed official Brownlow Medal favouritism with TAB, but the hard work is still ahead.
As for the greatest ever Bulldog tag, that is only a matter of time but he can fast-track it on the Monday night of grand final week.
Hawks’ plot to climb draft order as stars open contract talks
Hawthorn cashed in its assets in this year’s draft to snare Tom Barrass, but is still plotting how it can move up from pick 33. Plus, two big names have started discussing new contracts.
How early-season rejection drove Travaglia to first-round calculation
Tobie Travaglia won a B&F ahead of Harley Reid last year, but was brought crashing to earth after missing the AFL’s academy squad. He reveals how it drove him to becoming a first-round prospect.