bulldogtragic
05-12-2016, 12:25 PM
THE WESTERN Bulldogs aren't satisfied with breaking their 62-year premiership drought and are determined to go back-to-back, veteran Matthew Boyd has declared.
Former skipper Boyd said the Bulldogs would be buoyed by greater competition for spots and would take heightened expectations in their stride.
"With professional athletes, footballers, it's never enough and you're never satisfied," Boyd told reporters on Monday morning before the Dogs' first day of pre-season training with their full squad at Whitten Oval.
"We definitely have that mindset that we want to go again, we want to do it better and we'll be working our butts off to make that happen."
Boyd dismissed any suggestion the players would feel extra pressure to repeat their giant-killing effort, given they were underdogs throughout the entire 2016 finals series.
"We haven't really felt pressure throughout the journey that we've been on. That's the thing about this group – we'll just take it in our stride and we'll get to work," he said.
"We'll look at ways we can improve and things we didn't quite do the way we would've liked to do it. It's not pressure, it's just expectation."
The 2016 All Australian defender was enthused by the club's improved depth, given it would eventually regain skipper Bob Murphy, midfielders Matt Suckling, Mitch Wallis and Lin Jong, defender Marcus Adams and forward Jack Redpath, while it would be boosted by the return of ex-Bomber Stewart Crameri after a season-long doping suspension, and it had also snared former Collingwood veteran Travis Cloke.
"It adds competition for spots and raises the standards of training and of performance. It's a good position for the coaches to be in and us as a footy club," he said.
Boyd was especially excited by the return of Murphy, who, in a 15-minute session open to the media, showed little sign of the serious knee injury that ended his 2016 season by round three.
"He's obviously a great leader of our footy club and we'd love to go again for him," he said.
"But it's not just about Bob, and he'd say that himself – it's about this footy club.
"We're all excited to get Bob back, and we're excited to get Jack Redpath back, and Mitch Wallis back, and Josh Prudden and all those boys who had long-term injuries."
Boyd expected Cloke to "slot in perfectly" into a potentially new-look forward line.
"(Coach Luke Beveridge) has obviously had a really positive impact on a lot of players and being able to re-spark some careers and give them new roles and new challenges. So I'm sure Trav will fit into that category pretty nicely," he said.
Training with all of his new teammates for the first time, Cloke, 29, seemed considerably leaner than he was during his last appearance for the Magpies in their final-round loss to Hawthorn.
Another hungry Dog was Liam Picken – the club's player of the finals – who showed he won't be resting on past glories by being the last man standing in a continuous running session closed to the media.
Fellow flag heroes Easton Wood (ankle) and Tom Boyd (shoulder) were restricted to running laps as they recover from injuries that required surgery.
As for Matthew Boyd himself, the 34-year-old was feeling fresh after an off-season without any surgery.
"I feel pretty good for an old fella," he said.
Boyd, who will play on for a 15th season, said a premiership would have been a perfect way to retire, but he was still keen to help the young group.
"I want to try to continue that journey as long as I possibly can. I'm just going to enjoy the time that I have. We have a very finite time in footy and you've got to try to make the most of those opportunities," he said.
"I feel like I've been in bonus time for a couple of years. I'm very lucky and blessed to have been a part of our first premiership in 62 years. But that's last year and now we're looking into 2017.
"You don't get a huge amount of time to sit and dwell on those things. We enjoyed it but we're going to move on."
Former skipper Boyd said the Bulldogs would be buoyed by greater competition for spots and would take heightened expectations in their stride.
"With professional athletes, footballers, it's never enough and you're never satisfied," Boyd told reporters on Monday morning before the Dogs' first day of pre-season training with their full squad at Whitten Oval.
"We definitely have that mindset that we want to go again, we want to do it better and we'll be working our butts off to make that happen."
Boyd dismissed any suggestion the players would feel extra pressure to repeat their giant-killing effort, given they were underdogs throughout the entire 2016 finals series.
"We haven't really felt pressure throughout the journey that we've been on. That's the thing about this group – we'll just take it in our stride and we'll get to work," he said.
"We'll look at ways we can improve and things we didn't quite do the way we would've liked to do it. It's not pressure, it's just expectation."
The 2016 All Australian defender was enthused by the club's improved depth, given it would eventually regain skipper Bob Murphy, midfielders Matt Suckling, Mitch Wallis and Lin Jong, defender Marcus Adams and forward Jack Redpath, while it would be boosted by the return of ex-Bomber Stewart Crameri after a season-long doping suspension, and it had also snared former Collingwood veteran Travis Cloke.
"It adds competition for spots and raises the standards of training and of performance. It's a good position for the coaches to be in and us as a footy club," he said.
Boyd was especially excited by the return of Murphy, who, in a 15-minute session open to the media, showed little sign of the serious knee injury that ended his 2016 season by round three.
"He's obviously a great leader of our footy club and we'd love to go again for him," he said.
"But it's not just about Bob, and he'd say that himself – it's about this footy club.
"We're all excited to get Bob back, and we're excited to get Jack Redpath back, and Mitch Wallis back, and Josh Prudden and all those boys who had long-term injuries."
Boyd expected Cloke to "slot in perfectly" into a potentially new-look forward line.
"(Coach Luke Beveridge) has obviously had a really positive impact on a lot of players and being able to re-spark some careers and give them new roles and new challenges. So I'm sure Trav will fit into that category pretty nicely," he said.
Training with all of his new teammates for the first time, Cloke, 29, seemed considerably leaner than he was during his last appearance for the Magpies in their final-round loss to Hawthorn.
Another hungry Dog was Liam Picken – the club's player of the finals – who showed he won't be resting on past glories by being the last man standing in a continuous running session closed to the media.
Fellow flag heroes Easton Wood (ankle) and Tom Boyd (shoulder) were restricted to running laps as they recover from injuries that required surgery.
As for Matthew Boyd himself, the 34-year-old was feeling fresh after an off-season without any surgery.
"I feel pretty good for an old fella," he said.
Boyd, who will play on for a 15th season, said a premiership would have been a perfect way to retire, but he was still keen to help the young group.
"I want to try to continue that journey as long as I possibly can. I'm just going to enjoy the time that I have. We have a very finite time in footy and you've got to try to make the most of those opportunities," he said.
"I feel like I've been in bonus time for a couple of years. I'm very lucky and blessed to have been a part of our first premiership in 62 years. But that's last year and now we're looking into 2017.
"You don't get a huge amount of time to sit and dwell on those things. We enjoyed it but we're going to move on."