By Marc McGowan
Could it finally be about to happen?
Marcus Bontempelli has been agonisingly close previously to filling the only hole in his bulging football resume, but he took a giant step on Friday night to actually doing it.
Marcus Bontempelli inspired the Bulldogs to their fourth win in a row on Friday night.Credit: Getty Images
For all the superstar Bulldog’s brilliance, he remains without the Brownlow Medal recognition many of his champion peers already have.
Dustin Martin. Gary Ablett jnr. Patrick Dangerfield. Nat Fyfe. Patrick Cripps. Lachie Neale.
Ablett, Fyfe and Neale greedily have two medals each, whereas Bontempelli has twice been runner-up and finished eighth on three other occasions.
He can expect maximum votes – three probably aren’t enough – when the grand final-week count reaches the Dogs’ round 21 demolition of struggling Melbourne, the arch-rivals who denied Bontempelli and co. a second flag three years ago.
Bontempelli amassed 11 of his 33 disposals by quarter-time, had 10 of his 16 score involvements at the main break, and complemented those numbers with nine inside 50s, five clearances, two goals and five tackles.
This was one of those occasions when the numbers probably still didn’t do his influence justice.
Champion Data statistics revealed that Bontempelli gathered 21 disposals to his combined opponents’ meagre five in the first half. Among the Demons to spend time alongside him in that period were Jack Viney, Tom Sparrow, Clayton Oliver and Trent Rivers.
Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin must have missed Christian Petracca and Angus Brayshaw even more while watching Bontempelli run amok on Marvel Stadium at his side’s expense.
Bontempelli destroyed Melbourne’s much-vaunted midfield.Credit: Getty Images
“If he’s not the best [player in the AFL], he’s one of the best. He was outstanding again tonight,” Goodwin said of Bontempelli.
“At quarter-time, we had to do something with him, so we put Tom Sparrow to him, and Tom did a reasonable job, especially in the second half, but he just got away from us. He’s a high-quality player.”
With super Swan Isaac Heeney ineligible due to suspension, Bontempelli is in the Brownlow mix again with usual suspects Patrick Cripps, Lachie Neale and Nick Daicos, as well as fast-rising Docker Caleb Serong.
Teammate Adam Treloar might pinch some votes off him, but it would be a travesty if a player who has been in the discussion as the AFL’s best for at least six years never has “Charlie” around his neck.
Bontempelli, who can impact games in almost any position on the ground, is a five-time Bulldogs club champion and an All-Australian on just as many occasions.
He was also the AFL Players’ Association’s MVP in 2021, won the coaches’ equivalent award two years before that, his peers twice voted him the league’s best captain, and he starred in the Dogs’ drought-busting 2016 flag.
Rhylee West has a close bond with Bontempelli.Credit: Getty Images
That record has convinced good judges, including his coach Luke Beveridge, that Bontempelli might end his career as the greatest Bulldog ever, ahead of the legendary Ted Whitten.
Beveridge described The Bont’s first-half performance, which set up the red-hot Dogs’ 51-point victory, as “extraordinary”.
Rhylee West has gone from following Bontempelli around the Kennel as a starstruck teenager to being one of his closest friends at the club, so he is as well-placed as anyone to discuss what makes him special.
“Playing alongside him is magical. Some of the stuff he does is superhuman,” West told this masthead.
“I couldn’t ask for a better teammate, let alone him being the captain. Some of the stuff he does is out of this world, and he’s probably the best player in the comp.“
There was one moment on Friday night when West watched Bontempelli anticipatively pounce on a Demon rival’s handball out of a stoppage at a boundary throw-in and win the Sherrin back. It is the type of play West has become accustomed to from his incomparable captain.
“It’s almost like he is a step ahead,” West said.
“It’s like he sees the game before it happens. I don’t know how he does it, but I’m glad it’s for us. There is a bit of God-given talent, but he’s probably the hardest worker at the footy club – off the field, on the field, in the weights room. He’s always giving 100 per cent.
“He’s probably the most professional footballer at our football club, and it shows on game day.”
West has never heard the team-first Bontempelli mention the Brownlow Medal, but would love to see him win one.
“I think he would [appreciate it], but to be honest, he’s never talked about it. He never plays for himself,” he said.
“What he really wants is team success and to make the finals, and who knows what will happen [from there]? But he deserves one, and if he keeps going like this, he might get one – and I hope he does.”
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