Duryea ranks his best teammates, names the top five toughest opponents of his career

When the Western Bulldogs run out against GWS on Saturday, it will be the 200th time Taylor Duryea crosses the white line for an AFL match.

The 33-year-old defender started his career at Hawthorn after he was picked up in the 2009 draft before debuting in the brown and gold in 2013.

He played 118 games for the Hawks including the 2014 and 2015 Grand Final triumphs, and then found his way to the Bulldogs in late 2018.

During his time at his first club, Duryea played with several superstars of the game including Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin, Luke Hodge, Sam Mitchell and Jarryd Roughead, among others.

Add to that the current Dogs captain Marcus Bontempelli and it’s a fairly formidable list.

But how would Duryea rank them?

“‘Buddy’ just goes number one. You just can’t look past his career, his numbers and his impact on the game,” Duryea said on SEN’s The Run Home.

“But then it’s ‘Bont’. As good as Sam Mitchell or ‘Hodgey’ or ‘Roughy’ or whoever have been, it’s got to be Bont, for sure.

“Buddy might be the best player or talent, but Bont is probably the most impactful player in terms of leadership, his ability to play as a midfielder who goes goal line to goal line.

“He’s just a freak.”

Bontempelli, 28, owns a scary football CV which includes a premiership of his own plus five best and fairest awards, five All-Australian selections, two AFLPA MVPs, a pair of AFLPA best captain awards and myriad other individual awards.

With some more success, could ‘The Bont’ take Buddy’s mantle as Duryea’s best ever teammate?

“I’m not someone who sits there and says Jonathan Brown is a better player than Nick Riewoldt because he has three premierships,” he replied.

“I know we’re in this era of rings, particularly in American sport, where someone’s resumé is decided by rings.

“I don’t think I need to see that for me to say whether Bont is the best player I’ve ever played with, but I think it would be just recognition for him. I feel like he’s been stiff in a couple of Brownlow counts.

“If we can get another flag or two for him, then I guess it holds up as one of the better careers we’ve seen, especially in modern times.”

As a defender of 181cm, Duryea has stood some of the competition’s very best medium and small forwards.

Without ranking them in order, he has come up with a top five of the most difficult opponents he has faced over the course of his 199 games.

“I would say overall it’s those small forwards that have a marking ability,” Duryea said.

“So, Eddie Betts in years gone by, or Robbie Gray, those type of guys.

“More recently it’s been Toby Greene or Jamie Elliott or even Charlie Cameron.

“If I were to give it a top five, it would be those guys.”

The clash with the Giants at Engie Stadium will be Duryea’s 82nd for the Dogs and 200th overall.

He is averaging 16.7 disposals, 5.6 marks and 2.6 rebound 50s across seven games in red, white and blue in 2024.