Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli has claimed his fourth Charles Sutton Medal, capping off an incredible 2021 season.
He polled 353 votes to be named Club Champion, finishing 57 votes clear of Jack Macrae and 62 votes ahead of Tom Liberatore.
Bontempelli also won the coveted John Van Groningen Domestique Award and Bruce Wilkinson Trainers’ Award as part of the virtual event on Wednesday night.
Remarkably, it is the seventh consecutive year he has finished on the podium.
He previously received Best and Fairest honours in 2016, 2017 and 2019, while claiming a second-place finish last year, and third-place finishes in 2015 and 2018.
Only five players in Western Bulldogs history have now won more Best and Fairest awards than Bontempelli – Scott West (seven), Gary Dempsey (six), John Schultz (five), Norm Ware (five) and Ted Whitten (five).
It is yet another individual accolade for the 25-year-old this season, having collected a fourth All Australian blazer, and named All Australian vice-captain, the AFLPA’s Most Valuable Player and Best Captain for the first times in his career.
He also finished runner-up in the 2021 Brownlow Medal count.
Bontempelli did not miss a match in 2021 – including all four finals - averaging 26.7 disposals and 5.5 clearances.
He added 31 goals for the season, while notching up his 150th career game in round five.
“It’s always a challenge to try and front up each year and each season, and continue to try and search for more, and try to understand and learn how I can continue to support our playing group and football club in the best way I can,” the second-year skipper said.
“I get an enormous amount of support and help from a lot of people, but I think I’m lucky that the environment I’m in allows me to stay curious and try to be the best influence I can be for the football club.
“It’s incredibly humbling to be sitting in a position where I get to lead the lads out of the race, and do my best to help influence the whole group as best that I can.
“We’ll continue to persevere, be resilient and be the team that we know we can be.”
Macrae won the Doug Hawkins Medal for finishing runner-up in the count, and was also named the Best Player in the Finals – while Liberatore claimed the Gary Dempsey Medal for finishing third.
At the conclusion of each match, members of the Match Committee individually award votes from 0-5 for each player. A player can obtain a maximum of 25 votes for any particular game.
Charles Sutton Medal – Top 10
1st place (Charles Sutton Medal): Marcus Bontempelli - 353 votes
2nd place (Doug Hawkins Medal): Jack Macrae - 296 votes
3rd place (Gary Dempsey Medal): Tom Liberatore - 291 votes
4th: Bailey Dale - 251 votes
5th: Caleb Daniel – 250 votes
6th: Alex Keath – 241 votes
7th: Bailey Smith – 216 votes
8th: Aaron Naughton – 211 votes
9th: Taylor Duryea – 198 votes
10th: Bailey Williams – 171 votes
AFL Awards
- Chris Grant Best First Year Player: Anthony Scott
- Locker Group Coaches’ Award: Taylor Duryea
- Tony Liberatore Most Improved Player Award: Bailey Dale
- Brad Johnson Best Team Player Award: Alex Keath
- Scott West Most Courageous Award: Aaron Naughton
- Best Player in Finals: Jack Macrae
- John Van Groningen Domestique Award: Marcus Bontempelli
Club Awards
- Bruce Wilkinson Winner (AFL Trainers’ Award) – Marcus Bontempelli
- Ben Bradley Winner (VFL Trainers’ Award) – Robbie McComb
- VFL Best and Fairest: Robbie McComb
- John Schultz Community Award: Lin Jong
- Ingrid McDonald Award: Samantha Coppinger
