- Apr 4, 2006
- 5,695
- 11,603
- AFL Club
- Western Bulldogs
Bont's skillset is large and elite in almost every facet, but the one thing he has which I've never seen another player come close to is his ability to control and move a loose contested ball to his advantage.
Imagine if 3rd man up was still allowed, he'd be even further ahead of the pack as a player.
Exactly this. He knows where the ball needs to be for his advantage, or more often, a team mate's advantage. The opposition can try as hard as they like to impede him and/or the ball, but most times it ends up exactly where Bont wants it to be.
It's like his late goal in the 2016 prelim where he tapped the ball to bounce so he could gather it. But that was fortuitous to a degree. These days there are instances where an oval ball should not do the things it does... until you realise it is being caressed and directed by one Marcus 'the Deity" Bontempelli!
Edit: Douglas Hawkins also made the ball do things the way he wanted it to, but different era, and largely weaker teams he was a part of, and we rarely featured on TV coverage to highlight his skills beyond possessing and disposing of it.