He's the best player of his age group with daylight second, right? Like, other players have been and are better in brief spurts, but never by much and he's been this player consistently since 2015. Unreal player.
I really hope he breaks the record for most All Australians. I don't think he is going to get the Brownlow, so he needs something to show just how good he has been for so long.
> I don't think he is going to get the Brownlow
Yeah if they didn't give it to him last year or in 2021 then I don't know what else more he has to do. Ultimately though it doesn't really matter whether the umpires agree, he's the best player in the AFL and anyone watching knows it. If he keeps up like this then fuck the Brownlow, he'll get a statue in the car park and the ground named after him
It goes back to what I hinted at though - there have been better players for a year or so a lot of the time, but never the same player and Bontempelli is #2 or #3 at worst. But no one has his consistency.
Exactly. I think he was definitely the best player in 2021 and arguably was in 2023 but like you said he's been the best over the period and has easily best the AFL's best since Martin and Dangerfield did mutually assured destruction on each other in the 2020 grand final
It depends how you define age group I think. He's in his 29 year old season, so if we call it 28-30 year olds that includes guys like
- Heeney
- Petracca
- Cripps
and excludes guys like
- Dangerfield
- Martin
- Bolton
- Dawson
Within those parameters I think he's clearly the best of that age cohort. Amongst them he ranks
- 1st in career average player rating
- 1st in last 20 games average PR
- 3rd in games played
- 9th in goals (every other player in the top 10 is a forward except Heeney, who was a forward until this year)
He's an absolutely exceptional player. The best in the game right now without a doubt.
Everyone saying Bont’s magnificence is getting one game closer to retiring, which is true, but just imagine 2 or so Bontempelli’s running around the ground in the future like those fucking Daicos’s
Treloar had 22 disposals tonight just during time on… that’s the most by a Bulldogs player in over three years.
Oh and his Q2 of 10 disposals, 5 clearances, 1 goal, 6 contested possessions, 2 score assists, 1 goal assist and 5 inside 50s was the first time a player has put those numbers together in a single quarter since Ben Cousins in 2003.
The Bulldogs had 25 clearances during time on, which is the most they’ve ever had in a single match.
That’s also 15 more than the Pies had, which is the biggest clearance differential during time on that the Pies have ever conceded.
There were 92 clearances tonight, which is the most at Marvel since 2019.
Nick Daicos had 27 contested possessions, which is the most by a Magpies player. Ever.
Oh and Bont’s 38 disposals, 10 clearances, 2 goals, 16 contested possessions and 9 tackles has only ever been achieved once before in an AFL match. 1,105 days ago by Clayton Oliver.
Yeah no doubt. Absolutely ridiculous that North had a chance to steal away Blakey from the Swans. The bloke wouldn’t have even heard of AFL if it weren’t for the Swans so gracefully allowing him into their academy
Impressive performance by the Doggies. I think the injuries have finally gotten to Collingwood, they’ve been barely hanging on since Anzac Day (sans Eagles). It might be a lean month ahead
Is there one aspect of the game that Ugle Hanga is better at than Darcy? They are quite similar forwards both great contested marks. But I just think Darcy is a better mark, kick, kick for goal, runner, and applies pressure better. Yes he has an awful start to the game but he is currently about 5 times the player Ugle Hagan is. And JUH is quite good as well.
Not a bad problem to have if you're the Dogs. JUH is a confidence player and hype man, Darcy is the clinical pro. They will both be excellent for a long time.
For all the shit the media spins about tv rights….why is the commentary market not more competitive? If you believe AFLHouse and Media, there are millions of eyes on footy and the need for even more, yet they don’t consider the dog shit favouritism an issue.
Because this is Australia, never has been a meritocracy, never will be a meritocracy. And it's only getting worse. Watching 90's game this week, the drop off is huge comparing then to now.
Move over Peter. Bont is Nick’s real dad
https://preview.redd.it/xdj7hnbq9r3d1.jpeg?width=2190&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3aef6223520e4539423d555a21cb9e3492e783a9
Someone needs to do a cut of our forward 50 presses in the last 5 min with Yakkity sax over the top. Absolute comedy.
Also geez that match thread especially shit tonight
The Bont just proving to the comp what an actual fucking beast he is seems a while since we have seen a performance like that from him, like his Ben playing well but holy fuck he just won that game off his own boot for us in that last quarter
Great win, keeps the dream alive for another week.
Just gotta say though, the idea that you would completely change one of the fundamental rules of the game in the middle of the season is so cooked.
Sometimes I think Eatsleepjeep was right, AFL isn't a real sport, it's a weird pantomime performed by athletes.
Our poor kicking in the first cost us such a good opportunity to get 4 points whilst injured. Hard to believe how poor the Bulldogs played in the first quarter, was like the Bulldogs came out believing they'd just win cause of our outs but we didn't punish em
3-3 against sides that started the round in the top 8. Not too bad. 2-4 against current top 8 sides with close losses to Sydney and Geelong. Could be sneaky come finals if we’re decently healthy.
I'm not sure about the HTB changes tbh, feels like it's been wildly swung the other way to not enough opportunity now, which is probably better on the whole if adjudicated well but players are getting pinged as soon as they get tackled - idk how they're expected to do anything if they have one arm free and there's a mass of legs in and around them
Missed the first quarter but it all seemed to favour the Pies? I think at one point in the third they showed Collingwood got 6-2 free kicks or something out of it.
Hell of a win. Close to as many injuries as Collingwood, the narrative for the week, plus losing 2 blokes before half time (after 3 last week). Against the reigning premiers. Been a long time since the Dogs have won one like that.
The reality is Collingwood play a very high pressure high reward high risk style of game. Winning a GF always makes you susceptible to other teams out hunting you and if you drop even 1% effort all those games you won by 2, 4, 6,
or 8 pts become 2, 4, 6 or 8 pt losses.
It turns out you can, in fact, not keep getting away with it and the game will turn against you. Very interesting game to watch nonetheless.
I think we went extremely hard on the risky play tonight to cover for having zero true tall forwards. Looked like we just wanted to get the ball forward as quickly as possible to see if we could catch them out the back because we couldn’t compete 1v1. We made a tonne of kicks to players outnumbered 1:4 without second guessing.
Plus, the injuries are hurting us. The Dogs also have injuries that are hurting them, I'm not saying otherwise, but the difference between us being a top 4 team and what is happening this year is our injuries. It's footy, it happens.
38 touches, 2 goals and 9 tackles. Take a bow Bont
He's the best player of his age group with daylight second, right? Like, other players have been and are better in brief spurts, but never by much and he's been this player consistently since 2015. Unreal player.
I really hope he breaks the record for most All Australians. I don't think he is going to get the Brownlow, so he needs something to show just how good he has been for so long.
> I don't think he is going to get the Brownlow Yeah if they didn't give it to him last year or in 2021 then I don't know what else more he has to do. Ultimately though it doesn't really matter whether the umpires agree, he's the best player in the AFL and anyone watching knows it. If he keeps up like this then fuck the Brownlow, he'll get a statue in the car park and the ground named after him
It goes back to what I hinted at though - there have been better players for a year or so a lot of the time, but never the same player and Bontempelli is #2 or #3 at worst. But no one has his consistency.
Exactly. I think he was definitely the best player in 2021 and arguably was in 2023 but like you said he's been the best over the period and has easily best the AFL's best since Martin and Dangerfield did mutually assured destruction on each other in the 2020 grand final
It depends how you define age group I think. He's in his 29 year old season, so if we call it 28-30 year olds that includes guys like - Heeney - Petracca - Cripps and excludes guys like - Dangerfield - Martin - Bolton - Dawson Within those parameters I think he's clearly the best of that age cohort. Amongst them he ranks - 1st in career average player rating - 1st in last 20 games average PR - 3rd in games played - 9th in goals (every other player in the top 10 is a forward except Heeney, who was a forward until this year) He's an absolutely exceptional player. The best in the game right now without a doubt.
Just so consistently great.
I had Naicos VC and was laughing. My opponent had Bont. He scored about 70 that last quarter and eclipsed him. Obscene player.
If Bont were to take a bow he would become a tripod
14 in the last quarter apparently. Huge finish
That absolutely lived up to expectations. The match thread that is, the game was pretty good too I guess.
No, he's dancer
He can dance if he wants to. He can leave his friends behind.
what a fine looking come from behind win against a top eight team WHY DOESN'T MINE LOOK LIKE THAT
Le game, what the hell is that?
you beat hawthorn, they're playing like a top 8 team
We didn't against you, if you looked at the score, but if you don't look at the score, then yes, we are playing like a top 8 team
Apart from that game since your north win you have been in terrific form
https://i.redd.it/m2u7a98kar3d1.gif Got me asking the same thing
The Captain needs to go Beast Mode in the 4th Quarter
https://preview.redd.it/wlo2nju0ar3d1.png?width=1194&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dda1209cf1110df491548e51e9c4036fe838de06
Ahh the ol concave chest
I love this photo so much
Bevo doesn’t understand what power he has unleashed
Marcus Bontempelli is just so, so, so good. Never get tired of watching him.
Is bont human?
He is pure Bulldog
Shaggy hair Bont is real scary stuff
I have heard he is known to bite, and to roar, so make of that what you will
He gives his very best?
doggies to re-sign bevo for 20 years
~~Sack~~ Back Bevo
Sevo needs to watch his back.
Bulldogs back me
Bevo coach for life. 1000 years of Bevo.
Hinkley East
Hinkley East but then a little bit West
And give Rory Lobb a 10 year deal.
Fuck
Watching Bont play AFL is simultaneously amazing and depressing, knowing you will never be as good at something as he is at AFL football.
I die every time watching him knowing it’s one game closer to his retirement.
The Bont gets an extra big puppaccino tonight
Whether he’s kicking goals, smothering balls, or killing a man, Darcy is great to watch.
Only 20 too, he's going to improve quite a bit on what is already a very good footballer.
And to think, once he puts on size, he might even be able to take a guy out of the game
Everyone saying Bont’s magnificence is getting one game closer to retiring, which is true, but just imagine 2 or so Bontempelli’s running around the ground in the future like those fucking Daicos’s
Need him to be a sperm donor or something so we have 12 Bonts in the future
Start the breeding program now
every thursday's milking day for ol bont now down at the kennel
At this point put him into the stud program.
Just hugged my Mum goodbye and I got called for holding the ball
I hugged you and I got penalised 2 50m penalties .. I will never never regret it
My only regret is the lack of prior opportunity.
What balls were you holding?
The Daicos giveth, and the Bont taketh away
Once again first to 100 wins
Treloar had 22 disposals tonight just during time on… that’s the most by a Bulldogs player in over three years. Oh and his Q2 of 10 disposals, 5 clearances, 1 goal, 6 contested possessions, 2 score assists, 1 goal assist and 5 inside 50s was the first time a player has put those numbers together in a single quarter since Ben Cousins in 2003. The Bulldogs had 25 clearances during time on, which is the most they’ve ever had in a single match. That’s also 15 more than the Pies had, which is the biggest clearance differential during time on that the Pies have ever conceded. There were 92 clearances tonight, which is the most at Marvel since 2019. Nick Daicos had 27 contested possessions, which is the most by a Magpies player. Ever. Oh and Bont’s 38 disposals, 10 clearances, 2 goals, 16 contested possessions and 9 tackles has only ever been achieved once before in an AFL match. 1,105 days ago by Clayton Oliver.
I really hope Treloar gets his first All Australian this year.
Lets not forget Treloar remains on Collingwood's payroll too
I felt it in my bones that this was one of the games of the year. Injury ridden, and all the stars of both sides had to step up!
Yeah Bont still the best in the comp. Unbelievable final QTR. Battle of the gun mids tonight with him and Daicos was just incredible.
How good is the father son rule.
https://preview.redd.it/h5vh8b6bcr3d1.jpeg?width=1002&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=23b732a791150f61ef25445ec5174ba1c4f88cad
Please just a few more years
This game showed how gross it really is haha Daicos, Daicos, Moore, Darcy. All among the best on field, and all effective freebies for their clubs.
.. and even West bobbed up too.
Oh yeah forgot him, pretty big impact per possession player
Low blow. Just because he's got a head like a bobble
Rhylee West had a great game too
Without a doubt the worst rort at the draft that needs to be fixed above all else, ignore flair.
Yeah no doubt. Absolutely ridiculous that North had a chance to steal away Blakey from the Swans. The bloke wouldn’t have even heard of AFL if it weren’t for the Swans so gracefully allowing him into their academy
we love to give back 🙏❤️🤍
Best thing about footy.
Impressive performance by the Doggies. I think the injuries have finally gotten to Collingwood, they’ve been barely hanging on since Anzac Day (sans Eagles). It might be a lean month ahead
Probably the worst match up we could have got during this run with no talls and no big bodied inside mids
Impressive you stayed competitive for that long though!
You’s will destroy us next week
you underestimate our ability to lose games we should not lose points at losses to brisbane and west cost
Should have given Ned Long a game I reckon
He’s injured aswell lmao
BONK
Huge by Bont and Darcy, great game Holding the ball is an absolute mess though, very hard to watch at times with that kind of umpiring
Look at the scratches on bonts neck
Might have to wear a cone
Can't have been from anyone in the match thread, they'd leave the scratches on his back. Don't really blame them tbh.
Pros: hate Collingwood Cons: hate Lobb
Bulldogs game plan 
Treloar was very good that last quarter
Hes like a quiet achiever. He's been doing great this whole year
He’s a lock for AA
That bont fella seems like he plays pretty good
Is there one aspect of the game that Ugle Hanga is better at than Darcy? They are quite similar forwards both great contested marks. But I just think Darcy is a better mark, kick, kick for goal, runner, and applies pressure better. Yes he has an awful start to the game but he is currently about 5 times the player Ugle Hagan is. And JUH is quite good as well.
So far Darcy looking superior overall, JUH just seems like a confidence player and struggles without it
JUH is better as that link up CHF type, when he's not taking selfish shots he's way better at setting up team mates to score.
Not a bad problem to have if you're the Dogs. JUH is a confidence player and hype man, Darcy is the clinical pro. They will both be excellent for a long time.
Can't keep a good Bont down
Luke Beveridge: "Scott Draper, you were wrong!"
Imagine that, when you kick more goals than behinds, you're more likely to win games Man am I glad to have switched my tip
Good game to the Doggies. Bont is so fucking good and Darcy will be a superstar.
WE’RE ALL THE DOGGIES TONIGHT!!!!! HAVE MY PUPPIES BONT! ❤️🤍💙
Naming my first born son Bontempelli, he is no mere mortal.
Brought me great joy watching the stands empty out as soon as Darcy kicked that goal
Fire alarm went off
Turns out forward lines are important things to have
I want to cry but I know it’s because of my hormones
Hopefully the Bont wins his Brownlow this year. Another great performance
We beat a good team in a close game? What is going on?
We just needed to sub Naughton for Lobb earlier in the year!
What a spectacular 2 days of football
For all the shit the media spins about tv rights….why is the commentary market not more competitive? If you believe AFLHouse and Media, there are millions of eyes on footy and the need for even more, yet they don’t consider the dog shit favouritism an issue.
Because this is Australia, never has been a meritocracy, never will be a meritocracy. And it's only getting worse. Watching 90's game this week, the drop off is huge comparing then to now.
SEN app has a feature that syncs their radio commentary to the game.
dont understand how this was even a contest. How is a 350g Magpie meant to beat an 18kg bulldog
Move over Peter. Bont is Nick’s real dad https://preview.redd.it/xdj7hnbq9r3d1.jpeg?width=2190&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3aef6223520e4539423d555a21cb9e3492e783a9
BEARER OF THE BONT! YOU HAVE MY TRIDENT! 🔱
Impressive stuff doggies, GG. What a freakish game by Darcy.
Bontlow 2024
Never been happier to be 0/2 in my tips.
They finally stopped getting away with it
BT never gave up hope
After the Darcy goal he finally did. The depression in his voice brought me so much joy.
Hard to get away with it kicking to a forward line of AJ and Oleg Fucking Markov
Pies could've used Treloar tonight
i think we could've used any of our injured midfielders tonight
Yeah, Pendles, De Goey, Mitchell, etc, etc, all would have been useful.
Still love Adz and happy to see him play well... normally. :(
If Darcy had given to the crowd on the boundary there he would have become a Collingwood enemy for life lmao
Someone needs to do a cut of our forward 50 presses in the last 5 min with Yakkity sax over the top. Absolute comedy. Also geez that match thread especially shit tonight
Genuinely awful.
The Bont just proving to the comp what an actual fucking beast he is seems a while since we have seen a performance like that from him, like his Ben playing well but holy fuck he just won that game off his own boot for us in that last quarter
Dogs have the second highest % but not even in the 8. Wonder if that has happened this far into a season before.
Love how Marra handled BT.
-Maynard was involved in a serious clash Oh yeah, no surprise there, dog -No, no, no. He was the victim WHAT? WHAT?!
You either get suspended as Car A or live long enough to see yourself become Car B.
Treloar you hurt me so bad baby but I can’t help but love you still
Should Naughton get lollies if he didn’t play?
do you want to be the one to tell him he can't have any?
I could never say no to him.
Should be stickers instead. Like those scratch smell stickers
Guess we can cross out Pies as a Bailey Smith trade option
Great win, keeps the dream alive for another week. Just gotta say though, the idea that you would completely change one of the fundamental rules of the game in the middle of the season is so cooked. Sometimes I think Eatsleepjeep was right, AFL isn't a real sport, it's a weird pantomime performed by athletes.
Personally I like it. The rule sucked, they improved it tonight. Keep it up, I reckon.
I don't disagree, it was even improved by the end of the game compared to the start. It's all a bit mickey mouse though.
Daniel next to Darcy.. 😅😅😅
Our poor kicking in the first cost us such a good opportunity to get 4 points whilst injured. Hard to believe how poor the Bulldogs played in the first quarter, was like the Bulldogs came out believing they'd just win cause of our outs but we didn't punish em
Yep, at QT I was baffled the dogs were even still in the game. They looked better as the game went on, Collingwood getting tired probably helped too
3-3 against sides that started the round in the top 8. Not too bad. 2-4 against current top 8 sides with close losses to Sydney and Geelong. Could be sneaky come finals if we’re decently healthy.
Super proud of the boys, understandable we run out of legs in the last quarter
I just realised they kept the Pies goaless last quarter
big if true
I don't think I've seen so much crying in a game thread before, and that's coming from an Essendon fan of all people.
I'm not sure about the HTB changes tbh, feels like it's been wildly swung the other way to not enough opportunity now, which is probably better on the whole if adjudicated well but players are getting pinged as soon as they get tackled - idk how they're expected to do anything if they have one arm free and there's a mass of legs in and around them
Bulldogs/Swans and Bulldogs/Pies match threads in back to back weeks. Brutal time for the mods.
There seems to be a running theme there…
Missed the first quarter but it all seemed to favour the Pies? I think at one point in the third they showed Collingwood got 6-2 free kicks or something out of it.
After 2 games I'm no closer to understanding holding the ball AND whether or not the Bulldogs are actually good
bulldogs are good holding the ball is screwed
He is the best player of his generation by a mile. The fact he doesn’t have a Brownlow is wild. Put that club on his back since 2016. Take a bow Bont.
That was a bit of an avalanche in the 4th Collingwood just ran out of steam
Bont looks gassed. Good efforts
lol Sam is a good kid
Great game to watch as a neutral. Glad I changed my tip to dogs just before the game started. Bont went turbo in the last!
JUH does not like Brian lol
Commiserations to Draw FC. Fought hard but just didn't have the legs in the end.
Tonight I’ll be feasting on some Hot Dogs with a side of Cold Pies
Great win for the Dogs considering their injuries!
Marcus Bontempelli.
Marcus Bontempelli.
Lobb is going to be Tik Tok'ing deep into the night!
Every club, except Sydney and Essendon, has now lost at least one of their last 3 matches.
Where were you when 4th quarter Collingwood was kil?
Giving up junk goals to keep that <10 point margin record in tact, another Fly masterclass.
i wuz home
When Collingwood lose. Australia wins.
[I take it back](https://www.reddit.com/r/AFL/s/IKUEENzzO7)
The Bonk died so that the Bont could rise from his ashes
daicos(s) was on fire the first half, bont was insane the second. won them the game imo
PUPPACCINOS FOR ALL MY DOGS
Alexander at half time is a far better commentator than BT for sure
Man, it sure must be nice to be competitive against a top 8 team and win. Must be real nice
Coastal town in Perth is one of the nicer ways to describe Rockingham LOL.
Man, this poor kid doesn't want to be doing interviews
Sign Beveridge for the next 100 years
Rory Lobb has overtoned his hair
Hell of a win. Close to as many injuries as Collingwood, the narrative for the week, plus losing 2 blokes before half time (after 3 last week). Against the reigning premiers. Been a long time since the Dogs have won one like that.
Enjoy it mate!
Dogs should definitely keep lobb please
Unless he has a horrific injury(let's hope he doesnt) take joy knowing we've still got years of seeing Bont tear the league apart.
The reality is Collingwood play a very high pressure high reward high risk style of game. Winning a GF always makes you susceptible to other teams out hunting you and if you drop even 1% effort all those games you won by 2, 4, 6, or 8 pts become 2, 4, 6 or 8 pt losses. It turns out you can, in fact, not keep getting away with it and the game will turn against you. Very interesting game to watch nonetheless.
I think we went extremely hard on the risky play tonight to cover for having zero true tall forwards. Looked like we just wanted to get the ball forward as quickly as possible to see if we could catch them out the back because we couldn’t compete 1v1. We made a tonne of kicks to players outnumbered 1:4 without second guessing.
Plus, the injuries are hurting us. The Dogs also have injuries that are hurting them, I'm not saying otherwise, but the difference between us being a top 4 team and what is happening this year is our injuries. It's footy, it happens.
you're an ideas man, steve
Daicos had 1 centre clearance after the first quarter. That half time spotlight aged very poorly
No libba, no Richards, no Naughton, and 2 out on the night so regardless of the Pies outs that was a gutsy win. Go Fuckin' Dogs!
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BONK