Western Bulldogs champion Marcus Bontempelli has fought off some stiff competition to claim No.1 spot in the 2013 Redraft Revisited. Photos: AFL MEDIA
In the latest instalment of Footyology’s Redraft Revisited series, we dust off the old bifocals and have another look at the class of 2013.
It has been five years since we took a gander at this crop of players, but in the time that has passed, there hasn’t been a lot of change to the first revised top 10.
Only two players have dropped out – West Coast premiership hero Dom Sheed and Adelaide ball magnet Matt Crouch. They’ve been replaced by Richmond skipper Toby Nankervis and Port Adelaide key defender Aliir Aliir.
As for the actual top 10 that was read out 11 years ago, only two survivors remain in the form of Bulldogs champion Marcus Bontempelli and GWS star Josh Kelly.
And Bontempelli gets the additional honour of being crowned the retrospective No.1 of the 2013 AFL Draft.
There is a legitimate argument that the sensational midfielder is already the Bulldogs’ best ever player and he only turns 29 later this month.
There are few players in the competition who can do what he does on a regular basis. Not only is he a huge accumulator of possessions, but his deadly foot skills, bursts from congestion and ability to win a contested ball or a clearance for his side when it really needs it most puts him up in rarefied air.
And his height (194cm) allows him to drift forward to cause headaches for opposition backlines as evidenced by the fact he averages almost a goal a game across his 240-match career.
He has the uncanny ability to frequently singlehandedly change the course of a game, and all of those ingredients add up to the glittering career that he has put together so far.
Bontempelli has won three AFLPA MVPs, an AFLCA player of the year, six All-Australians (once as captain) and six best-and-fairests which places him just one off the record set by another club legend in Scott West.
However, it was his leading role in breaking the Bulldogs’ 62-year premiership drought back in 2016 which the faithful out west treasure the most.
Bontempelli has moved up one spot over the past five years in the 2013 Redraft, from second to first, which is an overall upgrade of three places as he was originally drafted at pick four.
It wasn’t easy to dethrone the man who was originally installed as the 2013 Redraft top pick, but Carlton superstar Patrick Cripps slides down to two.
The reason why it was such a tough call is because Cripps is now the owner of two Brownlow Medals to go with his AFLPA MVP from 2019 as well as four All-Australian blazers and five best-and-fairests.
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The Blues captain has taken his game to new heights in the last few years, and this season he obliterated the previous Brownlow vote record (36) by nine to finish with a whopping 45. Although, the second-best haul is now 38 after Collingwood’s Nick Daicos also broke the old record this year.
Perhaps to Carlton’s own detriment, Cripps routinely grabs his team, puts them on his shoulders and drags them to victories, or at least ensures they’re competitive in games they lose.
Like Bontempelli, Cripps is already undoubtedly a legend of his club having now won an equal-record five best-and-fairests alongside the great John Nicholls.
Overall, Cripps enjoys a boost of 11 spots as he slid down to pick 13 in the 2013 draft.
And after being named in sixth spot in the first version of the 2013 Redraft five years ago, Essendon captain Zach Merrett enjoys an additional bump up to third, having become one of the best midfielders in the league.
Since 2019, the magnificent on-baller has added two more All-Australian jumpers to his credit, to take his tally to three, and won another three best-and-fairests for a career total of five.
Only legendary trio Dick Reynolds, Bill Hutchison and James Hird have won the Crichton Medal at least that many times.
Merrett is now well and truly the heart and soul of his team, and when he fires, more often than not, the Bombers do too. Not bad for a pick 26.
Coming in at No.4 is Kelly, who was first taken at No.2 by the Giants and drops a place from three in the first Redraft, despite remaining one of his club’s top-liners. Nankervis completes the top five after originally being picked at 35 by Sydney before going on to play in three flags with the Tigers.
Brisbane premiership goalsneak Charlie Cameron revs his Harley up a spot from seven to six, representing incredible value considering he was selected at pick 7 in the rookie draft. That’s essentially an upgrade of 110 spots for the two-time All-Australian.
Hawthorn captain James Sicily slides ever so slightly from five down to seven, but considering he was first taken at pick 56, the Hawks couldn’t be happier with where they got their captain from.
Rounding out the top 10 are Sicily’s new teammate Tom Barrass, retired sharpshooter Ben Brown and Aliir who were all originally selected in the 40s.
Players who can consider themselves unlucky to miss the cut are Melbourne premiership teammates Christian Salem and James Harmes, Dockers skipper Alex Pearce, All-Australian Port Adelaide utility Darcy Byrne-Jones, Sheed, Carlton wingman Blake Acres and Hawthorn speedster Jarman Impey.
*Redrafts only take into consideration the first time a player was drafted
