It’s hard to believe that Marcus Bontempelli plays his 50th game of AFL football this weekend.

At just 20 years of age, Bontempelli is ranked fifth in the AFL player rankings, behind names the calibre of Scott Pendlebury, Robbie Gray, Nat Fyfe, and Geelong’s Patrick Dangerfield who sits at number one.  It’s an extraordinary feat considering the Ratings are based on a player’s past 40 games. 

Think about that for a moment.  He barely qualifies, yet sits fifth overall.

“It’s probably one of the better fifty games you’ll see,” Daniel Giansiracusa told westernbulldogs.com.au ahead of Saturday night’s clash with Geelong at Etihad Stadium.

The 20-year old is one of a new breed of big, powerful midfielders, the likes of witch the competition has never seen. 

Bontempelli stands 192cm and weights 93kg, which means he is taller than Bulldogs Team of the Century centre-half-forward Kelvin Templeton and gives up just one centimetre to fellow Club legend, Chris Grant.

But it’s more than just his physical attributes that stand out. 

Bontempelli has averaged 29.5, 6.5 tackles and almost two goals over the past fortnight and in Round 11 against the West Coast Eagles, he became the youngest winning captain in VFL/AFL history following the Dogs’ eight-point win at Etihad Stadium.

Giansiracusa says the young man from Eltham possesses a rare mix of drive and humility.

“He’s an extremely mature young man, he said. 

“Coming straight in he’s been amazing, and not just his footy, we know how good he is at football,  [but] he’s an amazing person. 

“His family would be extremely proud of the guy that he is, he leads the way for his teammates, but not only that, the community and everyone around the footy club loves him as well as outside." 

When the #4 pick in the 2013 NAB AFL Draft breaks through the banner on Saturday night, Giansiracusa says that it won’t just be the Bulldogs fans applauding the milestone.

“I expect even the Geelong supporters like Marcus Bontempelli, there’s not many that don’t.

“They’ll just hope he doesn’t get too much of the football on Saturday night.”