Saturday night’s 15-point win over the Adelaide Crows saw Bulldogs midfielder Marcus Bontempelli collect 30 disposals for the first time in his career, and for the first time in 2016 the 20-year-old polled votes for the AFLCA Champion Player of the Year Award.
Bontempelli stood tall for the Bulldogs in pivotal moments, kicking two goals along with his swag of disposals, including a dead-eye sealer from beyond the arc to put the game out of the Crows’ reach in the final minutes.
The influence of Bontempelli was reflected in the votes of coaches Don Pyke and Luke Beveridge, with the 20-year-old receiving the maximum 10 votes.
Crows forward Josh Jenkins received eight votes for his eight goal haul, while Jake Stringer’s dynamic four goal and 16-disposal saw him earn five votes from the coaches.
Luke Dahlhaus, Tom Liberatore and Mitch Wallis also polled votes, reflecting their dominance around the stoppages and through the midfield.
Lachie Hunter still heads the list of Bulldogs that have polled votes this year with 23, while Luke Dahlhaus has moved into second place on the Club leaderboard after the weekend.
AFLCA Votes
Round 7 – Western Bulldogs v Adelaide Crows
10 – Marcus Bontempelli (WB)
8 – Josh Jenkins (ADEL)
5 – Jake Stringer (WB)
3 – Luke Dahlhaus (WB)
3 – Tom Liberatore (WB)
1 – Mitch Wallis (WB)
AFLCA Award Overall Leaderboard
(as at the end of Round 7)
39 – Patrick Dangerfield (GEEL)
39 – Joel Selwood (GEEL)
36 – Tom Lynch (GCS)
36 – Jack Viney (MELB)
34 – Todd Goldstein (NM)
34 – Luke Parker (SYD))
28 – Rory Sloane (ADEL)
28 – Jack Ziebell (NM)
26 – Sam Mitchell (HAW)
26 – Lance Franklin (SYD)
AFLCA Award – Western Bulldogs Leaderboard
(as at the end of Round 7)
23 – Lachie Hunter (WB)
16 - Luke Dahlhaus (WB)
15 – Shane Biggs (WB)
14 – Koby Stevens (WB)
14 – Jason Johannisen (WB)
12 – Tom Liberatore (WB)
12 – Jake Stringer (WB)
11 – Marcus Adams (WB)
10 – Marcus Bontempelli (WB)
7 – Matthew Suckling (WB)
6 – Dale Morris (WB)
6 – Matthew Boyd (WB)
6 – Robert Murphy (WB)
5 – Caleb Daniel (WB)
5 – Mitch Wallis (WB)
3 – Jack Macrae (WB)
2 – Tom Campbell (WB)
1 – Jordan Roughead (WB)
1 – Liam Picken (WB)
1 – Jack Macrae (WB)
Bont’s perfect 10, five Dogs poll AFLCA votes
Marcus Bontempelli tops the list of five Dogs that polled votes from the coaches in Saturday's win.