The debate about who is the better player between Patrick Cripps and Marcus Bontempelli is always one that ignites some intense back and forth discussion - and rightfully so. Both were selected in what is now considered a powerhouse 2013 AFL Draft. Have a listen to some of these names that compliment the pair: Jack Billings, Josh Kelly, Zach Merrett, Matt Crouch Ben Brown, Dom Sheed just to name some.
I wrote a re-draft a couple of years ago saying that this was the superdraft of the 2010s. Bontempelli and Cripps lead the pack out of this star-studded crop and I’m unashamed to say that I had the Bont going with the first pick. Two years on and I’d do it again and pick him at number one. I had Patrick Cripps at pick three, behind Josh Kelly, just because the Giants nailed the pick and didn’t really need to change it. But you can very much argue that Cripps could go at number two.
Much like the next person, I love Patrick Cripps and how he plays. For what feels like a lifetime - but really it’s just five or so seasons - Cripps has been such an animal in contested spaces and his ability to win the contested ball at a rapid rate is absurdly astronomical and his tackling numbers are very impressive as well. That tells us he works as hard without the footy as he does with it.
There have been criticisms about his kicking abilities and his skills in front of goal in the early stages of his career, but over the last few years, you can tell he’s worked on this and it has been a vast improvement. Sure he’ll still make his mistakes, but he’s more reliable now than when he was when he began to rise to some form of prominence.
However, I do want to say - and I feel that I must say this - that those who say and believe Cripps is ‘far better’ than Bontempelli need to be banished to a foreign location for six months. Comments like that are just plain ignorant and completely disregard what Marcus Bontempelli has accomplished in his time at Whitten Oval.
Yes, Cripps’ accolades so far will speak a large portion of the tune of his career: A dual All-Australian, a three-time Carlton best and fairest winner and won the Players’ Association Most Valuable Player award. However, it is so often overlooked that Cripps plays in a midfield that has been amongst the worst of the league over the course of these five years.
Ed Curnow is a hard-working player and often underrated by those who don’t support the Navy Blue - he’s a great support role for Cripps. But who else is in there? A 19-year old prodigy in Sam Walsh who, after a mighty debut year last year, has been struggling a tad so far in 2020. An ageing Marc Murphy that has been on a bit of a decline this year and then there’s the next generation: Zac Fisher has been injured a bit so far, but has been very promising, Paddy Dow has been very underwhelming for someone being taken so high (Pick three in 2017), double goes for Sam Petrevski-Seton, who has been very hot and cold since being drafted at the end of 2016.
So what does that suppose to mean? I don’t have it in me to suggest that Cripps has been stat-padding and it’s a bit unfair to lay claim to it, given I've watched a number of his games where he has been Carlton’s best player and how many times I’ve seen him carry a vast majority of his team mates in games where they didn’t look like they wanted to be there. I'm looking at blokes such as Dow, Petrevski-Seton, Darcy Lang just to name some.
Is it a lack of power that Carlton have in the middle the reason why Cripps plays out of his skin every week - or is forced to play out of his skin? It’s certainly been a big factor why they have been stuck in the bottom rungs of the ladder the past few years. He just hasn’t had that enough of that support so far, but individually, I just can’t knock how hard he works and how much of the contested ball he wins. He averaged 17 and 17.6 contested possessions in his past two seasons, which is ridiculous in terms of contested footy.
It's hard to say that Bontempelli is the better player either, as much as I might want to say it. He's not the contested beast Patrick Cripps is at Carlton. He definitely wins his fair share of contested possessions, but not as much as he does. But what he does better than Cripps his that he has more finesse around the ground and definitely impacts in games in ways that his counterpart in the navy blue doesn’t.
Many will be quick to point out how Patrick Cripps kicked four goals against Brisbane last year, but I feel he doesn’t do enough of that. Sure, his monster numbers in clearance, tackling and contested ball play a massive role. But, he doesn’t pop up and feature on the scoreboard in like the Bont can. He was only just a teenager and in his eighth game of football when he put away Melbourne with the last two goals of the game. Yeah, the Dees weren’t exactly world-beaters at that stage but in a close-game scenario, he came up big-time.
The Bont has done that over many occasions. He’s done it a few times against Sydney in close situations. He had a massive fourth quarter against the Gold Coast in 2015 - you know, that one where the Dogs kicked 10 goals in the final term? Against Port Adelaide in the pouring rain last year, he was one of probably a handful of players who could still play the game as if he were in the dry.
Like Cripps, Bontempelli is a three-time club best and fairest and a two-time All-Australian. The only difference being is that he has a premiership next to his name. Also, one of those best and fairests was won in the premiership year. I think that adds a bit of value. Also intriguing to add that whilst Cripps was voted by the AFL Players Assocation as the player of the year last year, Bontempelli won the Coaches Association player of the year award last year. Making the difference of who is better than who more difficult.
I can’t remember who it was that told me, but someone told me last year that the Coaches Association holds more significance as they have a better view and understanding of what happens on the field. It’s a pretty decent argument to make, but I’d wager that the players also know what happens on the field and who is making their mark on any given day. I have certainly had moments in the local league where I’ve found myself saying who should be playing senior footy and who should be playing with me in the magoos.
Sunday evening at Metricon is going to be another intriguing installment into the Bontempelli/Cripps war for individual supremacy. The Bulldogs and Carlton played twice last year, with Cripps dominant in the first meeting, and Bontempelli the better man in the second. It’ll also be interesting to see who rebounds after both players had poor weeks individually. The Bont was well held by Luke McDonald, whilst Patrick Cripps was soundly beat by Jack Steele. Both didn’t just have their influence on the game quelled, but their respective opponents recorded more touches of the footy, which is the insult to injury no star player wants.
It’s going to be a great contest at the Gold Coast on Sunday evening. Carlton are a side that’s still continuing to improve - they have their bright spots, but there is still some work to be done though as evident last week against the Saints. The Dogs are humming along nicely, and four in a row is on offer.
Should the Dogs win and Bontempelli has a great game, I don’t want to hear anything about Cripps being the better player, or much like Terry Wallace infamously said in 1996: ‘I’ll Spew Up!’