Marcus Bontempelli

Marcus Bontempelli (born 24 November 1995) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League (AFL). Bontempelli received a nomination for the 2014 AFL Rising Star award in round 13 of the 2014 season. He won the AFLCA Champion Player of the Year Award in 2019, and is a three-time Charles Sutton Medallist and dual All-Australian. Bontempelli was a member of the Bulldogs team that won the premiership in 2016, the Bulldogs' first in 62 years. He has served as Western Bulldogs captain since the 2020 season.

Marcus Bontempelli
Bontempelli at Western Bulldogs training in 2018
Personal information
Full name Marcus Bontempelli
Nickname(s) The Bont
Date of birth (1995-11-24) 24 November 1995
Place of birth Melbourne, Victoria
Original team(s) Northern Knights (TAC Cup)
Draft No. 4, 2013 national draft
Debut Round 5, 2014, Western Bulldogs
vs. Carlton, at Etihad Stadium
Height 193 cm (6 ft 4 in)
Weight 93 kg (205 lb)
Position(s) Midfielder / forward
Club information
Current club Western Bulldogs
Number 4
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2014– Western Bulldogs 139 (122)
Representative team honours
Years Team Games (Goals)
2020 Victoria 1 (2)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of round 12, 2020.
2 State and international statistics correct as of 2020.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Early life

Bontempelli was born and raised in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, the second of four children to father Carlo, whose heritage is from Caulonia, in the Province of Reggio Calabria in Southern Italy, and mother, Geraldine (née Hunt).[1] He is the younger cousin of AFL footballer Nick Dal Santo.[2] He was educated at Marcellin College.[3]

AFL career

Bontempelli made his senior debut in Round 5 of the 2014 AFL season against Carlton[4] and received a NAB AFL Rising Star nomination in Round 13 for his 22 disposals and one goal performance in the Bulldogs' win over Collingwood. In Round 15, Bontempelli kicked a remarkable goal tight up on the boundary in the final minutes of the match to give the Dogs a one-goal win over Melbourne. Bontempelli was awarded the Club's best first-year player in 2014, alongside his AFLPA best first-year player award. He finished second in the NAB AFL Rising Star in the same year.

On 5 June 2016, in the absence of acting captain Easton Wood, who was filling in for injured regular captain Robert Murphy, Bontempelli captained the Western Bulldogs against the West Coast at Etihad Stadium, becoming the youngest match day captain since Jack Trengove in 2012.[5] With the Bulldogs winning the match by eight points, Bontempelli became the youngest player in history to captain a VFL/AFL side to victory at 20 years and 194 days of age.[6] He received 20 votes in the 2016 Brownlow Medal, the highest of any player for the Bulldogs. He was instrumental in the Bulldogs' four consecutive finals, including the 2016 AFL Grand Final, which was the club's first premiership victory in 62 years, where he had 22 disposals. His season was rewarded with the Charles Sutton Medal as the club best and fairest.[7]

On 20 November 2017, Bontempelli was named vice-captain of the club for the 2018 AFL season, following Murphy's retirement and Wood's elevation to captain from vice-captain.[8]

On 10 July 2018 Bontempelli was taken to hospital with severe appendicitis and had surgery to resolve the issue. Bontempelli was then placed on the sidelines in order to allow him to recover from the surgery.[9]

In December 2019, Wood stood down as Western Bulldogs captain, and Bontempelli was announced as the new captain from 2020.[10]

Statistics
Statistics are correct to the end of round 12, 2020.[11]
Legend
 G  Goals  B  Behinds  K  Kicks  H  Handballs  D  Disposals  M  Marks  T  Tackles
Significant statistics
# Played in that season's premiership team
AFL playing statistics
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game) Votes
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2014Western Bulldogs4 16151013312125447550.90.68.37.615.92.93.44
2015Western Bulldogs4 211710261183444691160.80.512.48.721.13.35.513
2016#Western Bulldogs4 262617301332633991231.00.711.612.824.33.84.720
2017Western Bulldogs4 222029285220505881380.91.313.010.023.04.06.319
2018Western Bulldogs4 19221625819945763711.20.813.610.524.13.33.79
2019Western Bulldogs4 231527347259606941160.71.215.111.326.34.15.022
2020[lower-alpha 1]Western Bulldogs4 127412212224433530.60.310.210.220.32.84.4
Career 1391221131707143731444936720.90.812.310.322.63.54.887

Notes

  1. The 2020 season was played with 17 home-and-away matches per team (down from 22) and 16-minute quarters with time on (down from 20-minute quarters with time on) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Honours and achievements

Team

Individual

References
  1. Quayle, Emma (10 August 2015). "Marcus Bontempelli wants to make a difference beyond football". The Age.
  2. Quayle, Emma (20 November 2013). "Nick Dal Santo's counsel carries weight with cousin, draft hopeful Marcus Bontempelli". The Age.
  3. Hanlon, Peter (2 April 2015). "Western Bulldogs young star Marcus Bontempelli handling the hype". The Age.
  4. Ralph, Jon (20 April 2014). "Carlton recruit Dale Thomas says Blues will take confidence from win, own form gradually improving". Herald Sun. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  5. "Marcus Bontempelli's Massive Achievement". Triple M. 5 June 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  6. Ryan, Peter; Navaratnam, Dinny (7 June 2016). "Young skipper Bontempelli breaks new ground". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  7. Davidson, Ryan (5 October 2016). "Bontempelli adds another medal to his cabinet with best and fairest award". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  8. "Wood named Bulldogs captain". Western Bulldogs. 20 November 2017. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  9. "AFL star undergoes emergency surgery". News.com.au. 11 July 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  10. Beveridge, Riley (10 December 2019). "New top Dog: Flag skipper steps down, superstar steps up". afl.com.au. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  11. "Marcus Bontempelli". AFL Tables. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
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