There are very few players currently playing right now that can lay claim to being the best in their club’s history.
Scott Pendlebury certainly has a compelling case for Collingwood, whilst not many in the short history of the GWS Giants would rival Toby Greene.
However, whilst recency bias may be claimed, after receiving a staggering sixth All-Australian and being named captain of the 2024 team, it is confirmed: Marcus Bontempelli is the best Bulldog that has gone through Whitten Oval.
Marcus Bontempelli celebrates a goal. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
This is no mean feat considering some of the names the Bulldogs have had through the years. From the legendary Charlie Sutton and EJ Whitten to Tony Liberatore, Chris Grant, Scott West and Bob Murphy, there have been some absolute champions of the red, white and blue.
As a live-and-die Bulldogs fan, whilst these players have incredible legacies, for me, the Bont rises above them all. After last Thursday night’s AFL Awards, Bontempelli would have gone home with a very heavy load after claiming his sixth All-Australian blazer (first as captain) and also being nominated by fellow players as the best captain in the league to go along with the Leigh Matthews trophy for AFLPA MVP.
The only thing the Bont has not won is the Brownlow, and the fact Charlie has not been draped around the legend can only be described as one of the greatest footballing crimes of the century.
But apart from the accolades and honours, the Bont means so much more. This is a man who in his third season, not having even turned 21 yet, led the Bulldogs to a magical 2016 AFL premiership, breaking a 62-year drought on a day that many Bulldogs fans thought they would never live to see.
Up until the midway point of the third quarter of the 2021 AFL grand final, he was on track to securing the Dogs’ third premiership, only five years after its second.
The only thing that could and ultimately did stop them was a blitz and a surge from Melbourne that had to be seen to be believed and may never be seen again.
When the going has been tough for the Bulldogs over the last few years with the coach and club under intense scrutiny, the Bont has shouldered it all, refusing to give an inch in his opponents and bringing his side along the ride through sheer will.
There have been miraculous goals (who can forget his effort against three Fremantle defenders this year or an unbelievable effort to win the game against Melbourne in just his debut season). There have been silky smooth clearances, ferocious tackles and dynamic kicks that no one else on the ground could see, let alone make.
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Above all, the red, white and blue are thankful and are blessed. For the Bont may have entered a team with little team success but he has only added and intensified the grit, determination and willpower that has exemplified the Bulldogs throughout its history.
He adds to this with scarcely-believable skills, dynamism and power that makes you wonder if the man is truly human. We as fans must relish the exploits he has left to give for once he is retired, we will be yearning for another player to emulate just a fraction of the Bont.
Ahead of another finals series, the club have a lot to do having not finished top four. But if there is one team that can go deep in September from outside the top four, it is the Bulldogs, having done it in 2016 and 2021. And if there is one player who will lead this charge, it is the man, the hero, the legend and the greatest Son of the West of them all: Marcus Bontempelli.
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