News Tom Boyd - Open Mike - Tuesday 17th September 8:30pm

Not related to the interview too strongly but it was great to see him at the Footscray vs Williamstown final. Nice to see that he still has an interest in the club and hopefully knows he's always be welcomed here
Still has close mates at the club, eg Mitch Wallis
 

bullish23

Premiership Player
Oct 2, 2002
4,343
4,219
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
Other Teams
Arsenal
Brilliant interview. Such a nice young man. I wish him nothing but peace.

He said we approached him mid-year in 2014.

Does that change history a bit? Did gws find out and then launched the counter-attack in swooping for Griffen?

Still doesn’t change the fact our club captain left us in the lurch.
 
Jun 7, 2012
9,848
12,136
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
Other Teams
San Antonio, West Ham, Renegades
Brilliant interview. Such a nice young man. I wish him nothing but peace.

He said we approached him mid-year in 2014.

Does that change history a bit? Did gws find out and then launched the counter-attack in swooping for Griffen?

Still doesn’t change the fact our club captain left us in the lurch.

I think we like most clubs were queueing up to get him in 2015. The Griffen thing sort of sped up the process a year.

Think GWS was targeting Griffen and we were targeting Boyd separate to each other.
 
Last edited:
Jun 7, 2012
9,848
12,136
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
Other Teams
San Antonio, West Ham, Renegades
I did enjoy the interview.

Always had high hopes for Boyd. Disappointed we won't get to see him play for the next 7 years + but I'm happy that he is happy and at peace with his decision.

We'll always have 2016. #MyNormSmithMedallist
 
Brilliant interview. Such a nice young man. I wish him nothing but peace.

He said we approached him mid-year in 2014.

Does that change history a bit? Did gws find out and then launched the counter-attack in swooping for Griffen?

Still doesn’t change the fact our club captain left us in the lurch.
My understanding from comments made from the club (PG?) was that we were into him (or his manager) even earlier but the normal convention is that a draftee sees out his first two years so we were biding our time, along with most other clubs that were eyeing off Boyd.

There's nothing unusual about this. Approaches and "conversations" with managers go on all the time. Clubs have lists of players they'd love to have if the right opportunity arises. Mostly players stick with their club though so most of these come to nothing. We'd be naive to think that list managers only start doing work on trades when the season ends.

What changed everything was Griffen buckling under the weight of pressures that he couldn't manage his way out of. Yes, Griffen was a captain who deserted his club but he was poorly managed by the club - the coach in particular.
 
The main thing I took out of it is that he was contemplating retiring in 2014. That’s crazy.

Yep that and he will never play AFL again.

Few people speculated after he retired he could come back in a few years, but after listening to him that seems to be no chance.
 
Dec 30, 2003
2,097
1,898
Melbourne western region
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
Other Teams
Bulldogs / Willy / Palace
Yep that and he will never play AFL again.

Few people speculated after he retired he could come back in a few years, but after listening to him that seems to be no chance.

That was the key take away for me.

I too had some hopes he would "sort" himself out and return to footy but the interview last night changed my mind.

Seems we recruited a very good young player who simply didn't really want to play at AFL level. Just took him a while to work that out. Fair enough from his point of view.

To me, his mental health issues we had heard about was more him grappling with expectations of him given the money he was being paid.

Also think if we didn't win the 2016 flag he would have quit a few years earlier.

Good to hear he has no issues with the club and he talked fondly of his relationships there. Nothing around the bullying rumours everybody had heard about.
 

ThirdLegUp

Premiership Player
Apr 29, 2013
4,086
6,680
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
That was the key take away for me.

I too had some hopes he would "sort" himself out and return to footy but the interview last night changed my mind.

Seems we recruited a very good young player who simply didn't really want to play at AFL level. Just took him a while to work that out. Fair enough from his point of view.

To me, his mental health issues we had heard about was more him grappling with expectations of him given the money he was being paid.

Also think if we didn't win the 2016 flag he would have quit a few years earlier.

Good to hear he has no issues with the club and he talked fondly of his relationships there. Nothing around the bullying rumours everybody had heard about.
He was never going to bring any of that up and give the media fresh fodder to attack our club, and a way to absolve themselves of any blame. and the last thing he wants is to suddenly be all over the news again. It would overshadow everything else the interview was for. To give people peace of mind that he is doing ok and that he is happy with his decision. I for one appreciated hearing it from him and not someone else.
 
Jun 26, 2016
3,057
5,659
Melbourne
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
Get the idea he never loved footy and because of that, the pressure and expectation that came with him brought out mental illness and anxiety. Hard to be in a good mindset if you don't enjoy what you're doing.

Came to my school recently to do a talk on mental health - one of the smartest and most articulate people I've met (also mentioned he got a 93 ATAR whilst experiencing the demands of a prospective number 1 pick). One of the key points he mentioned to do with his story as an AFL player was that the loved training with the boys and being around the club. It was gameday and the expectation that came along with that brought out anxiety and mental illness etc.

Haven't watched his Open Mike yet, and I believe someone mentioned that he contemplated retirement in his first year, which is absolutely true.

I believe that Tommy has been the person that the AFL needed to change the mindset around mental health. Was rarely talked about when he entered the league, now a multitude of players have felt comfortable taking time off to treat their mental illness and speaking out about it. The symbolism of a man who seemingly had everything after 2016, still being struck down by an issue which is becoming more prevalent in society, really makes a huge impact and I'm proud of Tommy for being the man to make the change.
 

Braybrook Son

Norm Smith Medallist
Jul 4, 2016
5,378
5,478
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
Great interview. I think we got the most out of Tommy in that finals series of 2016. I’ll always say, we got him to win a flag, and that was achieved. Will always be one of my favourite players at our club, and I’ve seen a lot of our greats, Grant, Hawkins, Beasley, Royal, McGuiness, West, Liberatore, Wynd, Purser, etc..
 

lifesaver

Senior List
Aug 16, 2009
208
251
SA
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
Yep he changed our lives with that flag and made saints fans green with envy. Cant not be a favourite
Great interview. I think we got the most out of Tommy in that finals series of 2016. I’ll always say, we got him to win a flag, and that was achieved. Will always be one of my favourite players at our club, and I’ve seen a lot of our greats, Grant, Hawkins, Beasley, Royal, McGuiness, West, Liberatore, Wynd, Purser, etc..
 

Soups

Premium Platinum
Jul 16, 2006
17,631
28,999
AFL Club
Collingwood
Just watched the interview and thought it was really good. Tom comes across to me as such an old soul. One of the best junior talents I’ve seen, wish he went on to have a long career but at least he was open and honest that it wasn’t for him. I think he’ll go on and do great things for people. Can’t believe he’s 23!
 
Back