Prediction What will become of big Tommy Boyd?

[Guido]

Boyd cannot mark on the lead. And i've rarely seen him mark it with his back to goal ie as a fwd.

Imo Boyd position is ruck unless he miraculously learns to mark.

I'm sure everyone's seen this a hundred times, but he's shown he's capable of playing forward in the past.



This was at the age of 18, against some pretty good defenders (including turning one AA key defender inside out and out-muscling another), strong leads, strong hands (even though he dropped a couple after being paid the mark), good intensity, and for mine, the biggest difference between then and now, he had some well above par agility for his size.

Ok, he was always going to lose some agility as he added size, and sure, the above are just highlights, and in some of those highlights he would have been the second (or third) string forward behind Patton or Cameron, but how, after more than 3 years of additional development, does he look incapable of doing what he was doing instinctively as a 1st year rookie. wtf has happened. Again, without any evidence and looking in from afar, my guess would be that a non-elite level work rate and his headspace have to be major contributing factors.

 

[VitalDread]

Key defender

 

[Leviticus]

He worries me. I think somewhere between option 1 and 2 - hate to say it but the signs seem really bad over an extended period of time now. Could be his last season if he doesn't immediately turn things around.

 

[Unorth]

Offloading Boyd would probably require us giving up a considerable asset(s) in order to convince a rebuilding team to take on his contract. But we don't have a 2nd round pick to give. So if we were to try to trade him...Wouldn't see it happening this year, at least.

 

[Doggy]

yeah lets give him away with draft picks just to be proven stupid later.

Porkins was nothing at this age

 

[DognBones]

I'm sure everyone's seen this a hundred times, but he's shown he's capable of playing forward in the past.



This was at the age of 18, against some pretty good defenders (including turning one AA key defender inside out and out-muscling another), strong leads, strong hands (even though he dropped a couple after being paid the mark), good intensity, and for mine, the biggest difference between then and now, he had some well above par agility for his size.

Ok, he was always going to lose some agility as he added size, and sure, the above are just highlights, and in some of those highlights he would have been the second (or third) string forward behind Patton or Cameron, but how, after more than 3 years of additional development, does he look incapable of doing what he was doing instinctively as a 1st year rookie. wtf has happened. Again, without any evidence and looking in from afar, my guess would be that a non-elite level work rate and his headspace have to be major contributing factors.

Sadly we haven't seen any recent evidence of the skills displayed in those highlights: leading, holding marks above his head, a willingness to run hard in the deep forward area. Any recruiters would lick their lips at what they saw so it's hard to condemn ours. Hopefully he can arrest his consistent decline and become a worthwhile contributor. Personally, I don't think the club's patience will extend beyond this season.

 

[ScragCity]

I remember speaking with Big Will and he explained to me how incredibly difficult the FWD/Ruck role is. He said that the roles are in constant conflict, with Ruck being about preserving energy to ensure ground coverage and endurance, whereas FWD is about being explosive either chasing the ball or stopping the rebound defender.

While Bevo continues with this jack of all trades, master of none rubbish, I fear for Boyd's longevity in the game/on our list. I don't see Patton, Franklin, Lynch or other KPFs rucking much outside of the front 1/3 of the ground....

Interesting idea. Seems a plausible reason for Boyd to be struggling. When he is resting forward he's not exactly going to have the energy to attack the ball when he's already gassed from covering the entire ground. Might be why he drops his marks now too. When you're physically spent your basic skills suffer.

 

[The Slitherin' Snake]

Boyd cannot mark on the lead. And i've rarely seen him mark it with his back to goal ie as a fwd.

Imo Boyd position is ruck unless he miraculously learns to mark. So Boyd hasnt been played out of position at all. In fact if you read posts from guys who followed Boyds jnr career they say Boyd was always a ruck first and foremost.

It was just a massive talent id failure that proclaimed Boyd to be a fwd.

A failure to spot his low intensity is another concern.

But these arent criticisms of the coach but rather the now departed list management group.

Still time for Tom to learn to mark and still time for him to get his shit together - at least four yrs.

He played TAC as a forward and was drafted number 1 as a result. Sure his early juniors may have been as a ruck, but that is not where he was drafted from

 

[Igloo]

I really would like to see him just be given a bulk of games to play as a key forward. He played his first few games with us down there, but since then has been moved back and forward between that and the ruck. I genuinely think it hurt his development a bit. I can't see it changing though.
The few games where he played mostly ruck if Roughy went down with an injury or something, he has covered the ground really well, and has been able to keep going the whole game. So i'm not sure about when people question his tank. I reckon he's fine in that area.

The niggling injuries have also been an annoying factor. Gets going then has a couple of weeks out with an injury.

His mental health is what i'm most worried about. It just makes me sad seeing the amount of shit he cops, from the media, opposition fans, and even our own supporters. A lot of it before he even played a game with us. No one, at such a young age, should have to put up with the shit he has had to. So I wasn't terribly surprised he had to miss a lot of footy due to his mental health last season. And I wouldn't be surprised if at some stage he had to miss some more. Because people just constantly hound him. He gets dropped, people give him shit. Goes and plays in the VFL, you have w***ers on the fence giving him shit all game. Comes back to the AFL, people give him shit for having to spend some time in the VFL. This has been from the ages of 19-22, a time when nearly every young tall is given leeway with the consistency of their performance. The amount of money he makes doesn't mean he is more equipped to deal with outside abuse, nor does it mean he's going to fast track to superstardom. Blame the club if you want to blame someone for the money, not Tom. And even if people deny it, that is absolutely the underlying cause for any and all abuse he cops. The money. Which is bullshit.

Does need to get better at marking, and i'd love us to hire a proper key forward coach, and let Tom actually play as a key forward for a while, to see if he can get some good footy going playing there. Even if he's playing average, it's a lot ****ing better than what we have there at the moment. Which is literally nothing. I just want to see him get given the chance.

 

[CaptainMurphy]

I really would like to see him just be given a bulk of games to play as a key forward. He played his first few games with us down there, but since then has been moved back and forward between that and the ruck. I genuinely think it hurt his development a bit. I can't see it changing though.
The few games where he played mostly ruck if Roughy went down with an injury or something, he has covered the ground really well, and has been able to keep going the whole game. So i'm not sure about when people question his tank. I reckon he's fine in that area.

The niggling injuries have also been an annoying factor. Gets going then has a couple of weeks out with an injury.

His mental health is what i'm most worried about. It just makes me sad seeing the amount of shit he cops, from the media, opposition fans, and even our own supporters. A lot of it before he even played a game with us. No one, at such a young age, should have to put up with the shit he has had to. So I wasn't terribly surprised he had to miss a lot of footy due to his mental health last season. And I wouldn't be surprised if at some stage he had to miss some more. Because people just constantly hound him. He gets dropped, people give him shit. Goes and plays in the VFL, you have w***ers on the fence giving him shit all game. Comes back to the AFL, people give him shit for having to spend some time in the VFL. This has been from the ages of 19-22, a time when nearly every young tall is given leeway with the consistency of their performance. The amount of money he makes doesn't mean he is more equipped to deal with outside abuse, nor does it mean he's going to fast track to superstardom. Blame the club if you want to blame someone for the money, not Tom. And even if people deny it, that is absolutely the underlying cause for any and all abuse he cops. The money. Which is bullshit.

Does need to get better at marking, and i'd love us to hire a proper key forward coach, and let Tom actually play as a key forward for a while, to see if he can get some good footy going playing there. Even if he's playing average, it's a lot ******* better than what we have there at the moment. Which is literally nothing. I just want to see him get given the chance.

This is exactly 100% the way I feel, very well put.

 

[mambavino]

I really would like to see him just be given a bulk of games to play as a key forward. He played his first few games with us down there, but since then has been moved back and forward between that and the ruck. I genuinely think it hurt his development a bit. I can't see it changing though.
The few games where he played mostly ruck if Roughy went down with an injury or something, he has covered the ground really well, and has been able to keep going the whole game. So i'm not sure about when people question his tank. I reckon he's fine in that area.

The niggling injuries have also been an annoying factor. Gets going then has a couple of weeks out with an injury.

His mental health is what i'm most worried about. It just makes me sad seeing the amount of shit he cops, from the media, opposition fans, and even our own supporters. A lot of it before he even played a game with us. No one, at such a young age, should have to put up with the shit he has had to. So I wasn't terribly surprised he had to miss a lot of footy due to his mental health last season. And I wouldn't be surprised if at some stage he had to miss some more. Because people just constantly hound him. He gets dropped, people give him shit. Goes and plays in the VFL, you have w***ers on the fence giving him shit all game. Comes back to the AFL, people give him shit for having to spend some time in the VFL. This has been from the ages of 19-22, a time when nearly every young tall is given leeway with the consistency of their performance. The amount of money he makes doesn't mean he is more equipped to deal with outside abuse, nor does it mean he's going to fast track to superstardom. Blame the club if you want to blame someone for the money, not Tom. And even if people deny it, that is absolutely the underlying cause for any and all abuse he cops. The money. Which is bullshit.

Does need to get better at marking, and i'd love us to hire a proper key forward coach, and let Tom actually play as a key forward for a while, to see if he can get some good footy going playing there. Even if he's playing average, it's a lot ******* better than what we have there at the moment. Which is literally nothing. I just want to see him get given the chance.

Amen! I'd pretty much give him the whole season to prove himself as a forward. Who knows, it might actually be good for his mental health to let him go back to his forward roots where he may still feel more comfortable.

 

[Sharpiesadog]

I really would like to see him just be given a bulk of games to play as a key forward. He played his first few games with us down there, but since then has been moved back and forward between that and the ruck. I genuinely think it hurt his development a bit. I can't see it changing though.
The few games where he played mostly ruck if Roughy went down with an injury or something, he has covered the ground really well, and has been able to keep going the whole game. So i'm not sure about when people question his tank. I reckon he's fine in that area.

The niggling injuries have also been an annoying factor. Gets going then has a couple of weeks out with an injury.

His mental health is what i'm most worried about. It just makes me sad seeing the amount of shit he cops, from the media, opposition fans, and even our own supporters. A lot of it before he even played a game with us. No one, at such a young age, should have to put up with the shit he has had to. So I wasn't terribly surprised he had to miss a lot of footy due to his mental health last season. And I wouldn't be surprised if at some stage he had to miss some more. Because people just constantly hound him. He gets dropped, people give him shit. Goes and plays in the VFL, you have w***ers on the fence giving him shit all game. Comes back to the AFL, people give him shit for having to spend some time in the VFL. This has been from the ages of 19-22, a time when nearly every young tall is given leeway with the consistency of their performance. The amount of money he makes doesn't mean he is more equipped to deal with outside abuse, nor does it mean he's going to fast track to superstardom. Blame the club if you want to blame someone for the money, not Tom. And even if people deny it, that is absolutely the underlying cause for any and all abuse he cops. The money. Which is bullshit.

Does need to get better at marking, and i'd love us to hire a proper key forward coach, and let Tom actually play as a key forward for a while, to see if he can get some good footy going playing there. Even if he's playing average, it's a lot ******* better than what we have there at the moment. Which is literally nothing. I just want to see him get given the chance.

Totally agree. Everyone wants everything yesterday these days. Patience is the key. Seems like everyone has written this season off already for Tom - he could easily come in a play some good footy.

 

[doggies ftw]

Just ****ing play him permanent forward for just one game please

 

[Dry Rot]

I thought Tom Boyd had retired.

 

[Dogs 13]

Because Roughy seems to be so fragile, Tom never really gets the chance to play forward for a whole game. He generally ends up having to run out the remainder of a lot of games in the ruck.

 

[flamethrower]

The Footscray / Western Bulldogs Football Club has won 2 premierships in the VFL /AFL.

Tom Boyd is directly responsible for one of those.

How about we all just give the guy some space to work on his physical and mental health so he can develop into the player he can be, rather than being like trolls from outside the football club continually putting undue pressure that no young guy deserves.

 

[D Mitchell]

Look at him. Tom's a viking. His ancestors terrorised the British Isles from small, converted fishing vessels. Terrorise the Great Southern Land, Tom.

 

[Ozimandas]

While Bevo continues with this jack of all trades, master of none rubbish

FFS Bevos rubbish got us a flag against all odds. Yes its grim at the moment but have some faith.

 

[Martyn_30_]

He’s a ruckman who’s spent most of his time forward, his strengths a best displayed in the ruck where he can run and jump opposed to coming up at the ball in the forward line which he struggles with. In ruck terms he’s still very young. It doesn’t matter if he came to the club as a forward.


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[footyfan000001]

Why and how is retirement even an option? Because he had clinical depression and had a bad vfl game on the weekend?

 

[TMoney22]

We can't play a ruck, resting ruck and Boyd in the same team. And anyone rucking all game just isn't viable long term.

I think we should go back to a bit of old school while keeping the zone defensive structure. Play Boyd as primary KPF and only ruck inside 50. I hate seeing a #1 ruck going for boundary throw ins close to goal while another KPF sits in the goal square, it's bloody useless.

Then have the #1 ruck sit a kick down the field helping the zone and forcing kicks wide. English and Boyd would be a good combo for that.

 

[fronkalicious]

If you can remember fronk posting about Boyd , I think pre 2016 ?
It was along the lines Bev didn't really rate him and was even open to trading him.

I have always thought since watching him in our colors he rucks with some forward time , but that's it.
He is just not a permanent forward .

Still , whenever or wherever he goes he delivered for us all during that month that mattered.

Pretty confident that was the most unpopular post in the history of BigFooty KH. Thanks for reminding me.

Sadly, it’s true however. Beveridge is not a big fan. We were close to having a deal with Carlton for the weitering pick.

As for my opinion, I’d be surprised if Tom sees out his contract with us.

 

[Doggy]

Pretty confident that was the most unpopular post in the history of BigFooty KH. Thanks for reminding me.

Sadly, it’s true however. Beveridge is not a big fan. We were close to having a deal with Carlton for the weitering pick.

As for my opinion, I’d be surprised if Tom sees out his contract with us.

cool.. we could have had Weitering

yuck

 

[TiAn_]

cool.. we could have had Weitering

yuck

Or Schache.

 

[dergert]

Play him forward and leave him there