Congratulations to Marcus Bontempelli - 150 Games

[bornadog]

Aged only 25 and will play his 150th v Gold Coast this Saturday.

What a star, and may go on to be the greatest Bulldog ever.

https://media3.giphy.com/media/RNae2BujC46ClOh3JM/giphy.gif

[Mofra]

Not a bad player

[bulldogsthru&thru]

Aged only 25 and will play his 150th v Gold Coast this Saturday.

What a star, and may go on to be the greatest Bulldog ever.

https://media3.giphy.com/media/RNae2BujC46ClOh3JM/giphy.gif

What would it take for him to become the greatest ever?

[comrade]

We’ve been blessed.

[SonofScray]

What would it take for him to become the greatest ever?

Another flag.

[westbulldog]

Another flag.

As Captain. And a Brownlow. :)

[bulldogtragic]

That went quick.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

That went quick.

You can say that again!

Let's hope the best is yet to come!

[bulldogtragic]

You can say that again!

Let's hope the best is yet to come!

Scary thing is, he’s in his prime with the records, plaudits and highlight reel he has. And by say 250 and we are managing him, I’m going to love him 75% forward with Naughton, Jamarra & English in their prime!

[HOSE B ROMERO]

So level headed from a young age on and off the field. And to spend your first year as captain in the covid hell hole of 2020 was outstanding. What a pleasure it is to watch The Bont.

[FrediKanoute]

Funny, because when we drafted him I remember saying to my cousin I wasn't sure about an in between sized mid who didn't seem to have much point of difference. Can remember who I said I would have preferred, but.......

[Bumper Bulldogs]

Has the AFL had a better 150 game player than the Bont.

Congested snd I know the boys will do you proud on the weekend.

[bulldogsthru&thru]

Funny, because when we drafted him I remember saying to my cousin I wasn't sure about an in between sized mid who didn't seem to have much point of difference. Can remember who I said I would have preferred, but.......

Was it Aish? Or Scharenburg?

[Eastdog]

Congrats Marcus on 150 games. What a career so far! Lots of Sutton medals and the premiership the biggest one of all. Brownlow medal worthy that’s for sure.

[Ozza]

Pretty fair ol' 150 games for the Bont.

Western Bulldogs captain: 2020–
AFL premiership player: 2016
AFLCA Champion Player of the Year Award: 2019
3× All-Australian team: 2016, 2019, 2020
3× Charles Sutton Medal: 2016, 2017, 2019
AFLPA best first year player: 2014
AFLCA best young player of the year: 2015
5× 22under22 team: 2014, 2015, 2016 (c), 2017 (c), 2018 (c)
AFL Rising Star nominee: 2014

Certainly has 100 brownlow votes if we assume he got 3 v WCE in round 2. 130 goals so far, and so many of these have been clutch moments.

Thoroughly believe he will retire as the greatest bulldog ever....when he does in 2032!!!

[FrediKanoute]

Was it Aish? Or Scharenburg?

I think I wanted Kade Kolodjashnij or Scharenburg.

Looking at the draft overall for the Doggies it was a pretty p*ss poor return. The Bont has more than made up for the failures of FUller, Honeychurch and Brett Goodes

[Mofra]

Funny, because when we drafted him I remember saying to my cousin I wasn't sure about an in between sized mid who didn't seem to have much point of difference. Can remember who I said I would have preferred, but.......
IIRC most people thought we'd pick either Aish or Scharenberg, with clubs split on where Bont would fall (some even suggested the teens, and Collingwood were rumoured to be set to take him at pick 10).

I remember thinking "we've reached a bit here" when we selected him. I was almost disappointed until I read people calling Gary Buckanara mad for naming Bont his no 1 selection in a year when there were three standout juniors (Boyd (daylight), Kelly, Billings).

Of course, we were all upset that we passed over Ben Brown for Matt Fuller at the time too.

[bornadog]

I think I wanted Kade Kolodjashnij or Scharenburg.

Looking at the draft overall for the Doggies it was a pretty p*ss poor return. The Bont has more than made up for the failures of FUller, Honeychurch and Brett Goodes

At the time I thought Scharenberg. We dodged a bullet there and snagged a great player.

[Happy Days]

Yeah I can’t remember my exact opinion but think I wanted Billings and that Bont looked a little slow.

Of course if Billings got to play against us every week I would be retrospectively correct but he doesn’t so Bont is on another planet to him. Weird to say that you luck out when your top 4 pick becomes a superstar but we really did.

[dadsgirl16]

Congrats to Marcus...never thought Chris Grant would be overtaken in my fav player everrrrr but maybe just maybe

[jeemak]

Yeah I wanted Billings.........

Reasonably satisfied with the Bont though!

[kruder]

The Bont went to my Primary School, actually thinking about it I went to the Bont's Primary School.

I remember a footy day in grade 6 quite a few years before the Bont arrived there was 3 doggies supporters in the whole school! Eltham was Northern Knights territory back then when they were dominate pretty much all Collingwood supporters.

Who would of thought potentially the greatest bulldog of all time was to follow.

Been awesome Marcus we are very lucky to have him.

[The Adelaide Connection]

Wouldn't it be great if they announced a contract extension this week!

[DOG GOD]

Great effort. Sign up Bonti for another 150 games. Deserves to be a 300+ bulldog legend.

[The Adelaide Connection]

Great effort. Sign up Bonti for another 150 games. Deserves to be a 300+ bulldog legend.

26 games for 10 more years will get him comfortably to 400+. 300+ is a bit of a lowball for mine. :)

[Bulldog Revolution]

So good to have witnessed Bonty's career to date - special player, and what we hope is one of the great leaders in the history of the club

[bornadog]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-2OGGm4m18&ab_channel=WesternBulldogs

[angelopetraglia]

The boy from Eltham. What a star. Love him. Premiership Captain Marcus Bontempelli has a good ring to it. Fingers crossed he can do it.

[Vred]

Can't wait to celebrate this with him on Saturday

[ratsmac]

What a player! From day one we all knew he was something special. He will end up being the best ever bulldog player imo. The fact that he already has 3 B&f's, 3 all Australians and a AFLCA award says he's on the path, oh yeah and a premiership medallion. Chris Grant, Brad Johnson, Doug Hawkins Scott Wynd Tony Liberatore and Scott West are some of the best Bulldog players I ever saw in my time but that premiership medal sets him apart from them, and he hasn't even reached his prime yet. He deserves to be a premiership captain one day (maybe this year). If his next 150 (he'll reach 300) match his first 150 he'll be the Bulldogs GOAT, and i think his next 150 could be even better, so look out everybody.

Congrats on the 150 The Bont!

[jeemak]

No disrespect ratsmac but the premiership medallion argument doesn't stack up. The players not lucky enough to earn one largely had no choice in the matter, and it's more likely than not that Bont won't ever put another one around his neck again.

Chris Grant almost won a Brownlow from CHB, and then did in terms of votes from CHF in consecutive years. No key position player has done that since. At that time he wasn't lucky enough to get on the end of a run to kick a goal to get in front, but it doesn't mean he couldn't have. And irrespective of the way Bont moves, Chris Grant moved better and was much more adept at doing freakish things around goal.

Luke "free pass" Hodge was a very good footballer. He captained great sides that were balanced and won flags. Does that make him a better player than Scott West who could have done the same but didn't have the opportunity and had to put up with only winning seven best and fairest awards across teams who had moderate success and failure? In a school yard line up, I'm taking West every day of the week.

And then we have Johnno. Only won a couple of All Australian's playing high, but then another four playing low....one of which he captained. Is he better than Martin Pike? I think he is but he didn't win a flag but Pike won three.........

The emphasis on player legacies based on winning flags or otherwise is bullshit. Matthew Pavlich was never ever going to win a flag, and people put the fact he never did against his legacy and it's ridiculous. In the 2008-2011 period if we had Matthew Pavlich playing as he did at that time we'd have won flags......

[chef]

That Melbourne game feels like yesterday.

[comrade]

That Melbourne game feels like yesterday.

After THAT goal, I said to my old man ‘we’re gonna be alright’. Felt nice after some **** years.

[AshMac]

I was red hot on Scharenberg in Bonts draft year. Glad it wasn’t my choice.

Good on you Bont. Western suburbs royalty.

[Mofra]

After THAT goal, I said to my old man ‘we’re gonna be alright’. Felt nice after some **** years.
There's a really good interview somewhere (with Bob?) where Bont breaks down what he was doing during the play.
I loved the bit where he says he uses his eyes to throw opposition players off his next move, if you're ever wondering how a 193cm 90+ kg player with poor acceleration is constantly able to evade opposition players in heavy traffic.

[ratsmac]

No disrespect ratsmac but the premiership medallion argument doesn't stack up. The players not lucky enough to earn one largely had no choice in the matter, and it's more likely than not that Bont won't ever put another one around his neck again.

Chris Grant almost won a Brownlow from CHB, and then did in terms of votes from CHF in consecutive years. No key position player has done that since. At that time he wasn't lucky enough to get on the end of a run to kick a goal to get in front, but it doesn't mean he couldn't have. And irrespective of the way Bont moves, Chris Grant moved better and was much more adept at doing freakish things around goal.

Luke "free pass" Hodge was a very good footballer. He captained great sides that were balanced and won flags. Does that make him a better player than Scott West who could have done the same but didn't have the opportunity and had to put up with only winning seven best and fairest awards across teams who had moderate success and failure? In a school yard line up, I'm taking West every day of the week.

And then we have Johnno. Only won a couple of All Australian's playing high, but then another four playing low....one of which he captained. Is he better than Martin Pike? I think he is but he didn't win a flag but Pike won three.........

The emphasis on player legacies based on winning flags or otherwise is bullshit. Matthew Pavlich was never ever going to win a flag, and people put the fact he never did against his legacy and it's ridiculous. In the 2008-2011 period if we had Matthew Pavlich playing as he did at that time we'd have won flags......

You're 100% correct and I actually agree. Fletcher Roberts isn't a better than Chris Grant either because he has a premiership medal. Brownlow medals isn't a great judge of a player either. Wayne Carey, Gary Ablett Snr, Leigh Matthews for example didn't win one either, yet Shane Woewodin did. My point I was making and I stand by it that when talking champion players, and moreso at the end of their careers, what sets them apart from other champion players is premierships, championships, titles what ever you want to call it. Bontempelli kicks that goal in the prelim to put us in front when others before him miss that shot. There something in that. A premiership medallion holds a lot of weight when talking great players IMHO.

[Axe Man]

There's a really good interview somewhere (with Bob?) where Bont breaks down what he was doing during the play.
I loved the bit where he says he uses his eyes to throw opposition players off his next move, if you're ever wondering how a 193cm 90+ kg player with poor acceleration is constantly able to evade opposition players in heavy traffic.

https://i.postimg.cc/cLG112Q1/Kenny-Craig.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

[merantau]

There is no doubt in my mind that whatever Bont achieves in the future will simply add to a legacy that has already reached a status such that, in years to come, when I'm pushing the daisies up, parents will tell their kids and grandkids: "I saw him play and he was a champion."

[Topdog]

You're 100% correct and I actually agree. Fletcher Roberts isn't a better than Chris Grant either because he has a premiership medal. Brownlow medals isn't a great judge of a player either. Wayne Carey, Gary Ablett Snr, Leigh Matthews for example didn't win one either, yet Shane Woewodin did. My point I was making and I stand by it that when talking champion players, and moreso at the end of their careers, what sets them apart from other champion players is premierships, championships, titles what ever you want to call it. Bontempelli kicks that goal in the prelim to put us in front when others before him miss that shot. There something in that. A premiership medallion holds a lot of weight when talking great players IMHO.

100% agree with you rats. The champion players that you cant separate allows you to add in things like a premiership medallion.

Grant was my fav player of all time but Bont has taken over that mantle and the fact that he was instrumental in 2016 plays a part in that.

[Topdog]

That episode of Barkley st was kind of hard to listen to with Marcus sucking in air every 10 seconds.

[jeemak]

That episode of Barkley st was kind of hard to listen to with Marcus sucking in air every 10 seconds.

It was the same with Libba's.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

You're 100% correct and I actually agree. Fletcher Roberts isn't a better than Chris Grant either because he has a premiership medal. Brownlow medals isn't a great judge of a player either. Wayne Carey, Gary Ablett Snr, Leigh Matthews for example didn't win one either, yet Shane Woewodin did. My point I was making and I stand by it that when talking champion players, and moreso at the end of their careers, what sets them apart from other champion players is premierships, championships, titles what ever you want to call it. Bontempelli kicks that goal in the prelim to put us in front when others before him miss that shot. There something in that. A premiership medallion holds a lot of weight when talking great players IMHO.

Good post ratsmac.

In the past I've been of the "medals doesn't make you a better player" argument, and whilst there's truth to that, it's not black and white. The reality is Grant had an opportunity to elevate his status by kicking us into a GF in 1997 but stuffed it. Bont has nailed his biggest moments.

That alone doesn't mean Bont is better than Grant, but we can't deny the fact that one was a key component in the greatest AFL Premiership flag of all time, while the other was part of a team that blew a home PF against an interstate side.

If Grant kicks that PF goal and leads us to a Premiership in 1997 it's a different conversation, but sadly it's not.

** FWIW I still think Grant is our #1 but I think Bont is edging closer and closer **

[jeemak]

You're 100% correct and I actually agree. Fletcher Roberts isn't a better than Chris Grant either because he has a premiership medal. Brownlow medals isn't a great judge of a player either. Wayne Carey, Gary Ablett Snr, Leigh Matthews for example didn't win one either, yet Shane Woewodin did. My point I was making and I stand by it that when talking champion players, and moreso at the end of their careers, what sets them apart from other champion players is premierships, championships, titles what ever you want to call it. Bontempelli kicks that goal in the prelim to put us in front when others before him miss that shot. There something in that. A premiership medallion holds a lot of weight when talking great players IMHO.

So does it need to be separated into who had a better career vs. who was the better player?

[EasternWest]

There's a really good interview somewhere (with Bob?) where Bont breaks down what he was doing during the play.
I loved the bit where he says he uses his eyes to throw opposition players off his next move, if you're ever wondering how a 193cm 90+ kg player with poor acceleration is constantly able to evade opposition players in heavy traffic.

Ah, the old Osipczak

https://gfycat.com/aromaticregularhart-mma

[MrMahatma]

And then we have Johnno. Only won a couple of All Australian's playing high, but then another four playing low....one of which he captained. Is he better than Martin Pike? I think he is but he didn't win a flag but Pike won three.........
.

Think Pike won 4. 1 Roos, 3 Lions. Pretty good resume!

[bornadog]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8--FFqk_8w&ab_channel=WesternBulldogs

[KT31]

Congrats to the player I hope will eventually be the most celebrated and most decorated player in our clubs history.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

So, I have vivid memories of our greats from early 80's on.
I don't recall one announcing his greatness quite like the Bont did, maybe Chris Grant comes close with his first year feats.

But Bont stands out: his (robbed) goal of the year against Melbourne in his debut year. That made me think we had a 'special' player.
His feats in the 2016 finals, franked it all.
The dominating mark against Hodge, and 'The goal' in the prelim sealed his place amongst the greats.
150 games! So much more opportunities lie ahead for him to further his standing amongst the all time greats.
He's already surpassed my heroes Templeton and Grant, in my opinion, if he leads us to further success he'll be placed in the upper echelons of the all-time AFL greats.

[comrade]

So, I have vivid memories of our greats from early 80's on.
I don't recall one announcing his greatness quite like the Bont did, maybe Chris Grant comes close with his first year feats.

But Bont stands out: his (robbed) goal of the year against Melbourne in his debut year. That made me think we had a 'special' player.
His feats in the 2016 finals, franked it all.
The dominating mark against Hodge, and 'The goal' in the prelim sealed his place amongst the greats.
150 games! So much more opportunities lie ahead for him to further his standing amongst the all time greats.
He's already surpassed my heroes Templeton and Grant, in my opinion, if he leads us to further success he'll be placed in the upper echelons of the all-time AFL greats.

The prelim goal is my all time favourite football moment. What a legend.

[Go_Dogs]

Such a treat to watch the Bont every week. 150 games - gee, the time / years just fly by.

Hopefully a few more flags in the next 150.

Well done Bont. Will be cheering on today.

[Go_Dogs]

Side note: someone needs to give Bont some feedback re his loud breathing in when speaking. He speaks well but it detracts a lot in my opinion.