Tom Boyd 2016

[bulldogtragic]

I can't count.

Sorry to hear it. Here I was just thinking it was literacy you were having problems with.

[jeemak]

Sorry to hear it. Here I was just thinking it was literacy you were having problems with.

Wot?

[Webby]

I'm glad this subject came up, as it gives me the opportunity to point out just how special Templeton was:

He kicked 82 goals as a 19 year old in 1976.
He kicked 118 as a 21 year old in 1978.
He kicked 91 as a 22 year old in 1979.
& he won a Brownlow as a 23 year old in 1980.

Only one bloke comes close to those numbers and that's Tony Lockett.
Lockett cracked his first ton and won a Brownlow in the same year as a 21 year old.
Lockett didn't pass the mark again until 25 years of age and had his most productive years between 25 & 32.

Point is, Lockett's a freak - yet KT out-freaked him in the pre-peak years. problem is, injury meant KT never really got to see his own peak years of 25-32.

Also, Lockett, Templeton and Carey were all 6ft 3in....
Tom Hawkins is a significantly bigger 6ft 5...
Tom Boyd is significantly bigger again at 6ft 7....

For some context, Boyd's nearly 2 inches taller than Luke Darcy. Darcy didn't come into his own until 24 and played his best footy at 28-29.

So, Boyd's clearly at least 4-6 years away from his best footy. It means that we knew he was 5-7 years away from his best footy when we signed him... So people getting on his back just 1.5 years into his 7 years deal is quite mind numbing. Everyone knows that, if it's a slow news week, the media are going to hit the "how's Tom Boyd going?" button...

The Boyd deal helped us to change perceptions about our club. We instantly went from "poor old, struggling rabble with tragic past, no future, no hope" to "destination club for one of the highest rated prospects in the country... Geez, they've got a good young list, actually... Wow, who'd have thought they could pull that off?" overnight.

The deal breathed life into the club. However we knew that we wouldn't see an on field return on the investment until the 5th to 7th years - and hopefully beyond when he extends... So panic after 18 months is simply ridiculous.

[1eyedog]

Agreed Webby and thanks for the KT mind jog. My concern is that aside from when / if Boyd will make it it is a hell of a lot of money to change the external perception of the club. I hope we manage our stars with a robust acumen and that the Boyd deal does not have implications for keeping / losing players in the future.

[SonofScray]

Great post Webby. Especially the context around our experience with a guy like Darcy in comparison with a freak show like KT. Another element to the story is our patience, expectations and previous trauma waiting for a messiah up front. A KPF has become this mythical beast for us, it's a hard mark to hit.

In Braveheart there is a parlay between William Wallace and some soldiers:

Young Soldier: William Wallace is seven feet tall!
William Wallace: Yes, I've heard. Kills men by the hundreds. And if HE were here, he'd consume the English with fireballs from his eyes, and bolts of lightning from his arse.

We are desperate to hang these blokes as soon as they aren't consuming opponents with fire. Not everyone, but your average Joe Bulldog who accesses footy via the HS and yells KICK IT! every time we touch the footy has this predisposition.

The media is stuck in a circle jerk driven by confirmation bias on him, which has turned his narrative with intelligent fans like us into a defensive battle. It's hard work.

We'll be right though, he will play good footy with us and contribute meaningfully to a Flag that Wags. I am certain.

[Twodogs]

I'm glad this subject came up, as it gives me the opportunity to point out just how special Templeton was:

He kicked 82 goals as a 19 year old in 1977.
He kicked 118 as a 21 year old in 1978.
He kicked 91 as a 22 year old in 1979.
& he won a Brownlow as a 23 year old in 1980.

Only one bloke comes close to those numbers and that's Tony Lockett.
Lockett cracked his first ton and won a Brownlow in the same year as a 21 year old.
Lockett didn't pass the mark again until 25 years of age and had his most productive years between 25 & 32.

Point is, Lockett's a freak - yet KT out-freaked him in the pre-peak years. problem is, injury meant KT never really got to see his own peak years of 25-32.

Also, Lockett, Templeton and Carey were all 6ft 3in....
Tom Hawkins is a significantly bigger 6ft 5...
Tom Boyd is significantly bigger again at 6ft 7....

For some context, Boyd's nearly 2 inches taller than Luke Darcy. Darcy didn't come into his own until 24 and played his best footy at 28-29.

So, Boyd's clearly at least 4-6 years away from his best footy. It means that we knew he was 5-7 years away from his best footy when we signed him... So people getting on his back just 1.5 years into his 7 years deal is quite mind numbing. Everyone knows that, if it's a slow news week, the media are going to hit the "how's Tom Boyd going?" button...

The Boyd deal helped us to change perceptions about our club. We instantly went from "poor old, struggling rabble with tragic past, no future, no hope" to "destination club for one of the highest rated prospects in the country... Geez, they've got a good young list, actually... Wow, who'd have thought they could pull that off?" overnight.

The deal breathed life into the club. However we knew that we wouldn't see an on field return on the investment until the 5th to 7th years - and hopefully beyond when he extends... So panic after 18 months is simply ridiculous.

Thanks Webby. I was starring to think I was barking at the moon with my constant "KT was the greatest ever" mantra.

BTW KT also kicked 4 goals in a losing final as an 18 yo. And 25 goals in each of his first two seasons as a 16/17 yo, including (from memory) 6 goals in his debut as a 16 yo.

I saw Carey's whole career and Templeton was so far ahead of him at the same age it wasn't funny. There is only one player who even comes close to KT and that was Lockett. Plugger was a better full forward but KT could play more positions.


Templeton is a great of this game and if it weren't for his knee injury he would easily be the greatest ever. Bulldog supporters just have to get used to that idea and stop running him down every time we ask WHY ISNT KELVIN TEMPLETON IN THE *!*!*!*!ING HALL OF FAME??????

http://www.woof.net.au/forum/showthr...ight=Hall+fame

Interesting article by a friend of mine on this exact topic;

http://australianfootball.com/articl...oversight/2003

I think I watched nearly every game KT played with us with Mic and still watch footy with him. He knows what he's talking about.

[bornadog]

Templeton is a great of this game and if it weren't for his knee injury he would easily be the greatest ever. Bulldog supporters just have to get used to that idea and stop running him down every time we ask WHY ISNT KELVIN TEMPLETON IN THE *!*!*!*!ING HALL OF FAME??????

http://www.woof.net.au/forum/showthr...ight=Hall+fame

KT was an unbelievable player at FF and when Royce Hart came to the club and asked him to go to CHF, he won a Brownlow. One of the saddest days in football, was watching the preseason comp and in the dying minutes KT doing his knee. Those days knees were not fixed easily, and really that was the end of him. When he went to Melbourne, I wasn't that worried as I knew his days were numbered due to injury.

Ever since KT we have been looking for a replacement. Beaza was a great FF, not in the KT class but since then we have gone through a number of talls trying to replicate KT - (see Talls of shame thread). The closest is Chris Grant, who played forward and back.

When Trade Radio announced the deal to get Tom Boyd, and Barrett fell off his chair, I was doing cartwheels around my office, as I couldn't believe we had snared the first draft pick from 2013 and he was a big boy who can kick goals, take big marks and was only 19 years old. I also couldn't believe that as a club, we decided to put our balls on the line, draw a line in the sand and say to the footy world, we don't want to be everyone's second team, we are going to win a premiership (several), in the next few years.

[bulldogtragic]

Wot?

Does Marsellus Wallace look like a bitch?

[Happy Days]

KT was an unbelievable player at FF and when Royce Hart came to the club and asked him to go to CHF, he won a Brownlow. One of the saddest days in football, was watching the preseason comp and in the dying minutes KT doing his knee. Those days knees were not fixed easily, and really that was the end of him. When he went to Melbourne, I wasn't that worried as I knew his days were numbered due to injury.

Whatever, Ben "Hitman" Hart still obviously deserves to be in the HOF over him.

[comrade]

He's got a ticket to Cairns. Time to unleash the beast.

My advice? Fill a water bottle up with VB just before the first bounce, get Stringer to spray it on him and watch the big fella kick an angry bag.

[bornadog]

Well Bevo said:

[always right]

The Boyd deal helped us to change perceptions about our club. We instantly went from "poor old, struggling rabble with tragic past, no future, no hope" to "destination club for one of the highest rated prospects in the country... Geez, they've got a good young list, actually... Wow, who'd have thought they could pull that off?" overnight.

It was actually more important than that IMO. At the time I genuinely feared for the future of our club. We'd come off the back of several poor years, we had a coach no-one appeared to rate and it seemed like everyone wanted to jump ship. The diehards would always support the club but what about those that are dragged kicking and screaming to buy a membership each year? They could have been lost...never to return.

Snagging Tom Boyd immediately changed our mindset. A big ballsy move that regenerated hope. It could very well go down in history as the move that saved the club (again) and (hopefully) led the way to future premierships. Big statement but one I genuinely believe.

[josie]

Go Boydy!!! Rip 'Em to shreds. So looking forward to seeing Tom and Redpath and Stringer play together. X fingers it works well. Dunkley OK in forward line too so whoopeee!!!

[Eastdog]

Good luck Tom. Take this opportunity with both hands and show those critics in the media what you can do.

[F'scary]

Just back to KT. We should also remember he went to Melbourne to help the club out financially. Melbourne were offering a deal that ignored his dicky knee. I understand that KT announced the move to his teammates in the clubrooms in tears. He basically told them that his knee was *!*!*!*!ed and that he could no longer play. History shows he only lasted a couple more years and was a shadow of the all-time great who donned the Dogs' jumper.