Boyd calls for momentum ahead of historic wildcard final
A decade on from his starring role in one of the AFL's great premierships, Tom Boyd is urging the Western Bulldogs to again ride their momentum. The Bulldogs will play the league's first wildcard final on Friday night when they take on Collingwood at the MCG, coming off last weekend's upset win over Melbourne.
"The most important thing when you go into a final series and you are in that bottom bracket, is building some momentum," Boyd told AAP. "The Dogs have had a great win against quite a substantial side. They've put themselves in a position to play Collingwood, who have been pretty hot and cold. And you go 'one win leads to another, leads to another', and this is where you start to generate the momentum."
Boyd noted the unusual position of his former club: "In reality, this year it's a long road for the Dogs, but this wildcard round allows you to get a head start on some of the other teams."
Remembering 2016
Boyd was reflecting at the launch of the AFL finals series, and the memories of 2016 were never far away. That year, the Bulldogs became the first team to win the flag from seventh place, with a run of four straight finals wins. They had battled significant injuries – captain Bob Murphy was out for most of the season with a knee reconstruction – and Boyd said they were in "a bit of disarray." But they peaked when it counted, making the most of the pre-finals bye and storming through September.
Boyd was one of the heroes, and the key forward's booming last-quarter goal in the grand final win over Sydney is a cherished moment in Bulldogs' history. The No. 1 draft pick retired three years later aged just 23, and he is now a prominent advocate for mental health.
"It's actually reflective of my life as a whole, how you grow as a person and mature," Boyd said of 2016 and the joy it has given the club. "I'd just turned 21 when that happened. I probably thought, 'yes, that moment was for the club', but it was a lot for me. Ten years on, you realise it was about everyone else."
The path since the flag
Boyd described the Bulldogs as having been in a "weird, no-man's land" for five or six seasons, and he wants to see them win a couple of finals, having not done so since losing the 2021 grand final to Melbourne during the COVID-19-affected season. He called making that 'COVID Cup' grand final "outstanding."
Boyd's tips: Brisbane and Dunkley
Looking ahead, Boyd expects two-time defending premiers Brisbane to be at the pointy end of the season again. He is also backing his former Bulldogs teammate Josh Dunkley to win the Norm Smith Medal for best afield in the grand final.
Dunkley made his AFL debut in 2016 at the Western Bulldogs and played in the premiership before moving to Brisbane after the 2022 season, where he is now a co-captain. Boyd offered a colorful assessment of his former teammate: "He's the nicest, kindest, softest bloke in the world" but "on the field, he's an animal."