Western Bulldogs captain Matthew Boyd has scoffed at any suggestion that their AFL premiership “window” is closed. After three-straight preliminary finals, the Bulldogs slumped to 10th this year.
The Bulldogs now have a new-look coaching staff, with Brendan McCartney taking over the senior role from Rodney Eade.
Speaking at the launch of a new marketing and membership campaign on Thursday, Boyd said the Bulldogs’ immediate on-field fortunes were in their hands.
Boyd said he does not believe in the AFL premiership cycle, where a team has a “window of opportunity” for a few seasons before inevitably dropping out of contention while it rebuilds.
“If you talk about a window, the window is open if you want to keep it open,” Boyd said.
“That’s what we’re doing, we’re working as hard as we possibly can to give ourselves a chance to compete and be competitive in finals.
“(We want) to get that premiership that we’ve been going for for 60 years or whatever it is.
“We’re striving to improve, we’re doing that gradually and slowly, and if you keep on improving then the window stays open.”
This is McCartney’s first senior coaching job and he has a strong reputation as a teacher and communicator after assistant roles at Geelong and Essendon.
He has made a quick impression, ramping up contested ball work and match simulation during the pre-season.
“The contested ball component of training has really stepped up,” Boyd said.
“We do a bit of contested ball stuff, but not so much pre-Christmas, so that’s been a bit of a change.”
Boyd was careful not to compare McCartney’s regime to his predecessor.
“But what we’re seeing now is guys who are really having a crack at getting in and winning the contested ball and trying to make themselves bigger and stronger to be able to play that way,” he said.
The feature of the club’s new campaign is a video that highlights the Bulldogs’ strong links to the rapidly-growing western region of Melbourne.
The theme of the new campaign is “Welcome to the western front”.
“It’s no longer a tired area … there’s something powerful brewing west of the city,” Bulldogs chief executive Simon Garlick said.
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