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 was drafted with the fourth selection in the 2013 AFL draft.

Bontempelli played for the Northern Knights in the TAC Cup for the 2013 season.

After originally playing as a floating half back and forward, Bontempelli moved into the midfield during his time with the Knights.

He participated in 19 games and kicked 115 goals throughout the season, while also being selected in the 2013 TAC Cup Team on the interchange bench.

He also played for Vic Metro in the AFL Under 18 Championships in 2013, primarily in the half back and wing positions.

While playing for Vic Metro, he had a disposal efficiency of 79 percent.

Initially, it was not clear where Bontempelli was likely to be selected in the 2013 AFL draft.

Some sources had Bontempelli ranging from pick four to even as far down as pick 15.

There were talks of trying to obtain Bontempelli after it was stated they were prepared to send their eleventh selection and forward Stewart Crameri in exchange for pick four.

However, this did not eventuate.

Bontempelli ended up getting selected with the fourth selection in the draft, behind Tom Boyd, Josh Kelly, and Jack Billings.

He made his AFL debut in the 2014 AFL season.

He received a nomination for the 2014 AFL Rising Star award in round 13 of the 2014 season, placing second in the overall count at the conclusion of the season.

Since then, he has been an AFL Premiership player, five-time All-Australian, five-time Charles Sutton Medallist, and a recipient of the AFLCA Champion Player of the Year Award.

He was runner-up in the 2021 and 2023 Brownlow Medals.

Bontempelli was raised in Eltham in the north eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria.

He was the third of four children to father, Carlo and mother, Geraldine.

He was educated at Marcellin College, and played junior football for the Eltham Panthers in the Northern Football Netball League junior divisions.

Bontempelli was the sports captain at Marcellin College in his final year, and he played for both the 1st XVIII football team and the 1st basketball team.

He notably had a game where he collected 50 disposals and kicked 10 goals.

Bontempelli had a successful time playing basketball before turning to Australian rules football, playing in two winning school basketball premierships and becoming a National School Boys basketball champion.

Bontempelli made his senior debut in the 's 28 point loss to in round 5 of the 2014 AFL season.

On debut, Bontempelli collected 14 disposals and 5 tackles, beginning to build his reputation as a high pressure player.

He received an AFL Rising Star nomination in round 13 for his 22 disposals and one goal performance in the Bulldogs' win over.

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 Chris Grant best first-year player in 2014, alongside the AFL Players Association best first-year player award.

He finished second in the AFL Rising Star in the same year, losing to player Lewis Taylor by a single vote.

His outstanding performance in his debut year meant that he was also selected in the 22 Under 22 team, alongside teammate Tom Liberatore.

Bontempelli polled 4 votes at the 2014 Brownlow Medal count that year, including three in his standout performance against in round 15.

Bontempelli continued to improve over the course of the 2015 season, playing all games except for round three and round ten, when he was injured with an adductor strain.

In 2015 he picked up a career-high 28 disposals while playing, also kicking 2 goals, taking 7 marks and collecting 7 tackles.

Bontempelli collected 24 disposals, 3 marks, 2 behinds and 7 tackles in the ' seven point elimination final loss to.

He was named as one of their best on ground.

Bontempelli the came third in the Charles Sutton Medal, the award for the Best and fairest player for the Western Bulldogs.

He was only topped by Easton Wood and Bob Murphy in the count.

On top of this, he more than tripled his Brownlow Medal votes from last season, leading the club for total Brownlow votes that season after picking up thirteen votes at just the age of 19.

Six of those votes were in the first two rounds after back-to-back best on ground performances, while he collected two other best on ground performances in round 15 and round 22.

He was once again named in the 22 Under 22 team as a midfielder.

He has served as Western Bulldogs captain since the 2020 season, and was previously the vice-captain from 2018 to 2019.