Cripps Bontempelli Kelly - The soon-to-be big 3?

Aug 30, 2017
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Bont for mine. He doesn’t have any obvious weakness & he’s a match winner. Cripps is the best contested player going around & quite possibly end up being the greatest ever contested player but he’s not as well rounded as Bont who is elite across the board.

Would currently have it as Bont > Cripps > Kelly but could change over the next few years.
 

Pepperlad

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Bulldog supporters pull the absolute biggest load of crap stats to support Bontempelli.

Kind of like how every single argument about him not getting much of the ball is "oh but he spends soooooo much time forward" then you play supercoach and realise he never made it to the 35% threshold to be classed as a forward/mid and was actually spending the vast majority of his time through the midfield. Of course that's just based on objective data.
Huh? I thought the argument was more Bont's disposals are more damaging. I'd take 20 Bont disposals over 30 Merrett disposals myself.
 

blitzer

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Huh? I thought the argument was more Bont's disposals are more damaging. I'd take 20 Bont disposals over 30 Merrett disposals myself.

Essendon do pretty well when Merrett racks up 30+ touches. There's a reason he gets tagged most weeks. Opposition coaches clearly value the impact of Merrett's disposals. I'm happy for Merrett to rack up uncontested possessions because I know he'll be hitting Essendon jumpers and breaking apart the opposition zone.

Bont's disposal is good too but no I don't think 20 of his disposals is worth 30 of Merrett's.
 

Pepperlad

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Essendon do pretty well when Merrett racks up 30+ touches. There's a reason he gets tagged most weeks. Opposition coaches clearly value the impact of Merrett's disposals. I'm happy for Merrett to rack up uncontested possessions because I know he'll be hitting Essendon jumpers and breaking apart the opposition zone.

Bont's disposal is good too but no I don't think 20 of his disposals is worth 30 of Merrett's.


22 disposals, 0 goals, but I'd still take that performance over any of Merrett's.

Merrett struggled with the tag last year. At least Bontempelli can go forward if he's not getting touches (although his goalkicking has been s**t this year).

Merrett is still a very good player, but he's not on the same level as Cripps, Kelly and Bont.
 

Doggstats

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22 disposals, 0 goals, but I'd still take that performance over any of Merrett's.

Merrett struggled with the tag last year. At least Bontempelli can go forward if he's not getting touches (although his goalkicking has been s**t this year).

Merrett is still a very good player, but he's not on the same level as Cripps, Kelly and Bont.


Good memories...Bont went at %100 kicking efficiency, which is unheard of for a mid in a GF.

He also had more tap outs to advantage then any ruck on the day.

As much as I love JJ, Bont should have def won the Norm and Champion Data agrees.
 

TooBlue14

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Wait wut? People are disregarding Bontempelli in this comparison? Are you guys serious? He has the most pure talent of the three of them. The guy had some injuries last year, but already looks to be picking his best form back up.



I mean, Cripps is an awesome contested beast, but his kicking ability, athleticism and goalscoring are not even remotely close to the Bont's level.

Please don’t compare bomtrmpelli to goal scoring. The guy can’t kick for goal. He’s nearly the worst in the AFL.
 

TooBlue14

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Bontempelli v Cripps

Scoreboard impact - Cripps (C)
Inside 50s - Bontempelli (B)
Score involvements - B
Tackles - C
Disposals - B (by 1)
Disposal eff - C
Contested possessions - C
Uncontested possessions - B
Intercepts - C
Turnovers - C
Marks - B
Contested marks - C
Clearances - C

Side note on kicking. Cripps is better than bontempelli by some way.

Bontempelli is classified as elite at behinds. Lol.

The above stats that bont is better than Cripps is probsbly due to the team they play for. More uncontested play by the dogs and more opportunities to mark. If you watch any kick down the line from def50 by the blues they go through Cripps every time. And it’s always a contested mark. Which he’s elite at.
 
Jun 26, 2016
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Bontempelli v Cripps

Scoreboard impact - Cripps (C)
Inside 50s - Bontempelli (B)
Score involvements - B
Tackles - C
Disposals - B (by 1)
Disposal eff - C
Contested possessions - C
Uncontested possessions - B
Intercepts - C
Turnovers - C
Marks - B
Contested marks - C
Clearances - C

Side note on kicking. Cripps is better than bontempelli by some way.

Bontempelli is classified as elite at behinds. Lol.

The above stats that bont is better than Cripps is probsbly due to the team they play for. More uncontested play by the dogs and more opportunities to mark. If you watch any kick down the line from def50 by the blues they go through Cripps every time. And it’s always a contested mark. Which he’s elite at.
I reckon you can make an argument for almost all those points, especially Scoreboard impact, Disposal eff, intercepts, turnovers and contested marks, and especially kicking, all of which Bontempelli is better at and any unbiased supporter would back me up.
 

TooBlue14

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I reckon you can make an argument for almost all those points, especially Scoreboard impact, Disposal eff, intercepts, turnovers and contested marks, and especially kicking, all of which Bontempelli is better at and any unbiased supporter would back me up.
How is he better. Based on people’s opinion. How is that so when the data suggests different. What rubbish. Opinion is for click bait. These are facts. Cripps is a better kick than bontempelli. Particularly at goal.

Cripps has more scoreboard impact. He’s better around the ball, in the middle, kicking, scoring. He has more elite characteristics than bontempelli. He has less below average characteristics. The only thing bontempelli is better at is uncontested play which Cripps has improved the gap between the two but it’s not his go because he’s more around the coal face. Bontempelli has gone backwards over the last couple years. Cripps has only further improved. He also gets to carry around an extra 8kg around with him.

People like you who state opinion and (oh other people think the same as me) rubbish is what’s wrong with sports media these days. Back up your opinion. My grade 8 science kids can do it surely you can too.
 
Last edited:
Apr 13, 2008
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How is he better. Based on people’s opinion. How is that so when the data suggests different. What rubbish. Opinion is for click bait. These are facts. Cripps is a better kick than bontempelli. Particularly at goal.

Rubbish!! Sure Bont has the yips in front of goal at the moment, but his field kicking is possibly the best in the league... which is a large reason why he is so highly revered. His kicking to advantage is extraordinary.
 
I reckon you can make an argument for almost all those points, especially Scoreboard impact, Disposal eff, intercepts, turnovers and contested marks, and especially kicking, all of which Bontempelli is better at and any unbiased supporter would back me up.
I've seen Cripps play everything at Carlton from full forward to inside midfielder to 3rd tall defender all in one match. Tries much harder too, Cripps any day of the week for mine.
 
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