Introduction
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.
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). He is the younger cousin of AFL footballer Nick Dal Santo. He was educated at Marcellin College.
AFL career
Bontempelli made his senior debut in Round 5 of the 2014 AFL season against Carlton 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. 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. 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.
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.
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.
In December 2019, Wood stood down as Western Bulldogs captain, and Bontempelli was announced as the new captain from 2020.
Statistics
- Statistics are correct to the end of round 5, 2020.
| G | Goals | B | Behinds | K | Kicks | H | Handballs | D | Disposals | M | Marks | T | Tackles |
| Played in that season's premiership team |
| Season | Team | No. | Games | Totals | Averages (per game) | Votes | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | B | K | H | D | M | T | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | |||||
| 2014 | Western Bulldogs | 4 | 16 | 15 | 10 | 133 | 121 | 254 | 47 | 55 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 8.3 | 7.6 | 15.9 | 2.9 | 3.4 | 4 |
| 2015 | Western Bulldogs | 4 | 21 | 17 | 10 | 261 | 183 | 444 | 69 | 116 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 12.4 | 8.7 | 21.1 | 3.3 | 5.5 | 13 |
| 2016 | Western Bulldogs | 4 | 26 | 26 | 17 | 301 | 332 | 633 | 99 | 123 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 11.6 | 12.8 | 24.3 | 3.8 | 4.7 | 20 |
| 2017 | Western Bulldogs | 4 | 22 | 20 | 29 | 285 | 220 | 505 | 88 | 138 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 13.0 | 10.0 | 23.0 | 4.0 | 6.3 | 19 |
| 2018 | Western Bulldogs | 4 | 19 | 22 | 16 | 258 | 199 | 457 | 63 | 71 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 13.6 | 10.5 | 24.1 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 9 |
| 2019 | Western Bulldogs | 4 | 23 | 15 | 27 | 347 | 259 | 606 | 94 | 116 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 15.1 | 11.3 | 26.3 | 4.1 | 5.0 | 22 |
| 2020 | Western Bulldogs | 4 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 34 | 45 | 79 | 8 | 23 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 6.8 | 9.0 | 15.8 | 1.6 | 4.6 | |
| Career | 132 | 118 | 111 | 1619 | 1360 | 2979 | 468 | 642 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 12.3 | 10.3 | 22.6 | 3.5 | 4.9 | 87 | ||
Honours and achievements
Team
- AFL premiership player (Western Bulldogs): 2016
Individual
- Western Bulldogs captain: 2020–present
- AFLCA Champion Player of the Year Award: 2019
- 2× All-Australian team: 2016, 2019
- 3× Charles Sutton Medal: 2016, 2017, 2019
- Victoria representative honours in State of Origin for Bushfire Relief Match
- AFLPA best first year player: 2014
- AFLCA best young player of the year: 2015
- Herald Sun Player of the Year: 2019
- Chris Grant Best First Year Player: 2014
- 5× 22under22 team: 2014, 2015, 2016 (c), 2017 (c), 2018 (c)
- AFL Rising Star nominee: 2014