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The rare air Marcus Bontempelli could enter in 2025
Jaiden Sciberras • June 23rd, 2025 2:32 pm
2025 may prove difficult for the AFL's All-Australian selection panel, with a six-time squad member approaching what may be a rare feat in All-Australian history.
Superstar Bulldog Marcus Bontempelli has been as good as any in the AFL this season, despite having played just nine games thus far.
Averaging 25 disposals at strong efficiency, nine score involvements, six clearances, five tackles and a goal per game, there is no doubt that Bontempelli is having yet another season worth celebrating, however is it enough to warrant an All-Australian selection?
After missing the opening five games due to a calf injury sustained in the pre-season, Bontempelli will need to feature in all but one game for the remainder of the season to reach the 16-game minimum required to gain eligibility for selection.
In 2024, Jeremy McGovern was the only player to make the All-Australian team with less than 20 games (19 played). Tom Stewart earned a selection in 2022 having played just 17 games, the only player to achieve the feat in 17 games or less since Gary Ablett Jnr in 2014 (2020 season excluded).
Bontempelli's elite performances thus far certainly rank him amongst the best in season 2025, however assuming this production continues, has the 29-year-old done enough to put his name amongst such rare air?
“Right now, Marcus Bontempelli’s played eight games,” Kane Cornes told SEN Fireball.
“He needs to get to 16, we’ve had this discussion, 16 is the number.
“They have nine (games) left. He’s played eight. Is Marcus Bontempelli in your All-Australian team?”
“He’s clearly an All-Australian, absolutely,” Fireball co-host David King stated.
“He’s come with a huge run. I had a look at the numbers earlier, looking at the last six rounds of footy, some teams have only played five games, some have played six.
“He is in the top half a dozen. The cream always rises to the top. What he does, no one else can do. He is so consistent.”
In Sunday night’s Round 15 closer against Richmond, Bontempelli stuffed the stat sheet, collecting a game-high 36 disposals, 12 score involvements, seven clearances, four goal assists and three goals, propelling the Bulldogs back into the top eight.
“He is a six time (AA), All-Australian in 2016, '19, '20, ’21, '23, '24, he was vice captain in '23, he was the All-Australian captain last year,” Cornes continued.
“It – and it’s a big ‘if’, because he’s got to not miss a beat from here - would be his seventh All-Australian. That is rare air.
“We talk about eight with (Patrick) Dangerfield, this would be seven, he’s about to sign a new four-to-five-year contract I would assume at the Western Bulldogs, he could end up with nine or ten by the time he’s done.
“What a player, Marcus Bontempelli.”
