No surprises here – Jack Macrae leads the Bulldogs’ disposal tally. No player in the competition has had more of the footy.
Macrae and skipper Marcus Bontempelli sit among the Bulldogs’ top three in every category that requires winning or using the ball.
Metres gained? Tick. Clearances? Tick. Inside 50s? Tick. Score involvements? Tick.
Disposals
Jack Macrae – 422
Marcus Bontempelli – 323
Tom Liberatore – 290
Bailey Dale – 289
Bailey Smith – 278
Effective disposals
Jack Macrae – 321
Bailey Dale – 232
Marcus Bontempelli – 231
Caleb Daniel – 222
Tom Liberatore, Bailey Smith - 209
Metres gained
Marcus Bontempelli – 7082
Jack Macrae – 5893
Bailey Dale – 5886
Bailey Smith – 4217
Tom Liberatore – 3772
Score involvements
Marcus Bontempelli – 97
Jack Macrae – 93
Aaron Naughton – 92
Tom Liberatore – 86
Bailey Smith – 75
Inside 50s
Marcus Bontempelli – 85
Jack Macrae – 64
Tom Liberatore – 60
Adam Treloar – 48
Lachie Hunter - 40
When it comes to the contest, Tom Liberatore is king.
He’s cracked a ton already when it comes to clearances and leads the competition in that statistic.
Liberatore is also the Bulldogs’ top tackler and contested possession winner.
Clearances
Tom Liberatore – 102
Jack Macrae – 73
Marcus Bontempelli – 57
Adam Treloar – 40
Bailey Smith – 34
Tackles
Tom Liberatore – 62
Jack Macrae – 59
Marcus Bontempelli – 59
Adam Treloar – 44
Josh Dunkley – 34
In the air, Aaron Naughton is the man.
He has taken 94 marks for the season, more than 20 better than the Bulldogs’ next best.
More than a third of those marks have been contested – and three of them have earned Mark Of The Year nominations.
Marks
Aaron Naughton – 94
Alex Keath – 70
Taylor Duryea – 70
Josh Bruce – 68
Jack Macrae – 59
Contested marks
Aaron Naughton – 34
Josh Bruce – 21
Tim English – 16
Alex Keath – 14
Marcus Bontempelli – 11
Goals
Josh Bruce – 34
Aaron Naughton – 29
Marcus Bontempelli – 17
Tim English – 12
Cody Weightman – 8
Defensively, if anyone’s the chief, it’s Alex Keath.
When it comes to intercepts, he’s the top Dog, and it’s the same with one-percenters.
Remarkably, he’s spent more than two hours extra on the ground than any other teammate – and only two players in the competition have played more minutes than Keath in 2021.
Forward-turned-defender Bailey Dale is also a standout, collecting plenty of the ball and being influential with rebounds and intercepts.
Intercepts
Alex Keath – 87
Bailey Dale – 71
Taylor Duryea – 68
Hayden Crozier – 48
Bailey Williams – 47
Rebound 50s
Bailey Dale – 59
Caleb Daniel – 46
Taylor Duryea – 38
Alex Keath – 30
Bailey Williams – 29
One percenters
Alex Keath – 68
Zaine Cordy – 50
Marcus Bontempelli – 38
Taylor Duryea – 32
Hayden Crozier, Bailey Dale – 31
Time on ground (mins)
Alex Keath – 1176
Josh Bruce – 1034
Aaron Naughton – 1032
Marcus Bontempelli – 1021
Jack Macrae – 997
