tha_bulldawg
10 Jul 2007, 23:46
Did anyone else notice that Gerard Healy called Mattie Boyd, Brad Boyd?
I can't believe that commentators are still getting this wrong! Still I guess that means that he's hugely under-rated...
dales.girl38
10 Jul 2007, 23:49
It happened in the Elimination Final last year, I think it was Anthony Hudson or maybe Michael Christian. It happens a fair bit.
Aquamarinejewel
11 Jul 2007, 00:00
Did anyone else notice that Gerard Healy called Mattie Boyd, Brad Boyd?
I have heard Healy say it a couple of times - he mentioned it again "On the Couch" with his buddies Sheehan & Walls. Tell you what makes me laugh...when Rex Hunt calls him Bill & Boyd during his football calls.
Unnamed1
11 Jul 2007, 00:03
Did anyone else notice that Gerard Healy called Mattie Boyd, Brad Boyd?
I can't believe that commentators are still getting this wrong! Still I guess that means that he's hugely under-rated...
Healy is junk. Will Munson apparently plays for the dogs too..
kookadog
11 Jul 2007, 00:07
It says more about their poor commentary than anything, and yes it is very annoying. Still I'd say the boys give him a bit of stick over it :).
soupaman
12 Jul 2007, 14:31
This is a bit like when the T.V stations announce the teams thursdya night and the listing of the changes has almost every fifth players name spelt incorrectly.
Healy is losing it. He is always forgetting/mixing up names on Foxtel lately.
The Coon Dog
13 Jul 2007, 08:47
Boyd finds the answers blowin' in the wind (http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,22064524-5012432,00.html)
THE AUSTRALIAN - 13 JULY
MATTHEW BOYD is one of the game's most anonymous high achievers.
The Western Bulldogs defensive midfielder is among the club's most prolific ball-winners and tacklers yet is rarely mentioned as a member of the mosquito fleet which can make this quick but inconsistent team so exciting.
Even many of his team-mates don't know much about Boyd, except for his outstanding work ethic at training and on match day. Yet there is much more to the 24-year-old than kicks, handballs and hard-ball gets.
He was inspired when he discovered Bob Dylan's songs championing the civil rights movement in the US during the 1960s and lists the ageless singer as his favourite artist, more than a generation removed from Dylan's original fan base.
"I like his story," Boyd said this week.
"His music touches all generations. It's pretty universal and he's got a fair bit to say about a lot of different issues. He's inspired a lot of musicians."
Boyd's love of music prompted his girlfriend Kate to buy him a guitar several Christmases ago.
The same diligence that Boyd applies to his football is now applied to the guitar. He has lessons once a week and plays it almost every day, although he's unsure just what Kate now thinks of her present.
"She doesn't say anything but she closes the door when I'm playing," he said with a laugh. "I'm not sure whether that's good or bad."
And nor has Boyd been invited by the Bulldogs' other music fans, Robert Murphy and youngster Dylan Addison, to join a little band they are putting together.
"Dylan has a strong music background but they haven't asked me to come over yet," Boyd said with the same humour.
Not that Boyd spends his waking hours between training sessions and matches strumming away the day.
He has almost finished a bachelor of commerce, majoring in sports management, and is considering continuing his studies with a masters in business.
Boyd agrees that Bob Dylan's music and a commerce degree are a somewhat "eclectic" mix, but he enjoys the challenge and the diversity.
"While I'm still playing footy it (study) is a great opportunity and it's another outlet," he said. "Footy doesn't last forever."
Boyd has been a vital player for the Bulldogs during the team's inconsistent season, which sees it hanging in the top eight on percentage.
He is second in possessions gathered, with 333, behind veteran Scott West's 365. He is third in the tackle count with 47, after fellow midfielders West (63) and Adam Cooney (51).
Yet for all his great work this season, Boyd will have to take an even more prominent role against Essendon tomorrow night at Telstra Dome.
West will be missing with a groin strain, further compounding the loss of another important midfielder, Daniel Cross, with a long-term knee injury. It is a match which could shape the finals campaigns of both clubs.
On eight wins apiece, Essendon is eighth, just 1 per cent below the Bulldogs, and both teams have injuries to key players.
Despite the importance of the match and an obvious increase in responsibility, Boyd believes his focus will be exactly the same.
"I'm an accountable midfielder who needs to beat their opponent first before getting a bit of the ball and trying to make an impact," he said.
Boyd has made such an impact at the Bulldogs since his modest beginnings at the club in 2002 that 300-game stalwart Rohan Smith presented him with his famous No.5 guernsey on his retirement at the end of last season, replacing the No.42 Boyd was wearing.
"I was rapt to give him my number," Smith said yesterday.
"He works so hard with the time and dedication that he puts into things like his diet and training.
"We'd have a solid session of say one-and-a-half or two hours and he'd always stay out there doing extras, working on his kicking and other aspects of his game. Boydy didn't have an easy path. He came through the rookie draft via the VFL seconds, so he's had to work for everything."
When he was overlooked in the 2000 draft, Boyd went to VFL club Frankston in the hope of furthering his claims but managed just one senior game.
He is grateful that the Bulldogs gave him a chance, and he is repaying the club in spades after coming of age last season.
"The message I've got out of it is persistence," he said.
"All the hard work has really kicked in over the last couple of years."
Go_Dogs
13 Jul 2007, 11:42
Been great watching Boydy develop into the player he is today, one the a lot of kids with AFL aspirations can look to.