Big-money Western Bulldogs recruit Tom Boyd has been handed a suspension for a late-night incident involving teammate Zaine Cordy, although the club has only recently made the sanctions public.
Although it is not known when the incident occurred, the Herald Sun is reporting the two Bulldogs were drinking together following a VFL match when Boyd accidentally struck Cordy.
Cordy required medical attention following the incident, and Boyd was suspended from the side ahead of their clash with the Geelong Cats two weeks ago. Cordy has also been suspended.
The Bulldogs today issued a statement regarding the suspensions handed down to the two players, saying the club had dealt with the incident:
“The club is strongly against any form of violent behaviour and is extremely disappointed in the actions of both players, particularly by the actions of Tom.
“The club has responded by invoking a range of sanctions and other measures.”
On top of the suspensions, the end date for which are not known, those sanctions included a $5000 fine for both players and the requirement for Boyd and Cordy to apologise to their teammates.
Boyd has also been asked to undergo counselling, and both players accepted the sanctions.
Despite the suspension from the AFL side, Boyd is permitted to continue playing in the VFL.
In the wake of the incident, Boyd also made a “significant personal contribution of time and money” to Step Back Think, a non-profit organisation working towards the prevention of social violence.
“Tom and Zaine have committed to the club that there will be no repetition of such behaviour and that they will atone to their teammates and the club,” the statement from the Bulldogs went on to say.
“The club accepts the sincerity of their remorse and commitment. We will continue to fully support both players.”
After being taken with the first pick in the 2013 draft by the Greater Western Sydney Giants, Boyd has struggled in his short career. He moved to the Bulldogs at the end of the 2015 season but has kicked just the 29 goals in his 27 career games to date.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
The only thing the club was trying to hide was what lead to the altercation I think.
mattyb
Guest
Doggies fans or footy fans?
Brinnx
Guest
When the great white forward hope of a club who's on huge clams gets suspended, the fans have a right to know why.
DB
Guest
Why does the public need to know anyway?
berrlins
Roar Pro
This seems a bit blown out of proportion, the club dealt with the situation in a solid manner but maybe should have released a statement earlier unfortunately you can't hide anything in the AFL. I did however read Barretts dribble of a piece on the Bulldogs and Boyd and I can't help but think he attacks the Talia issue way too much. I read his sliding doors column and although he says some good things he can't let the whole "you didn't talk to Talia" thing go.
me too
Guest
some kind of mishap? late night kick of footy? "in the wake of the incident, Boyd also made a “significant personal contribution of time and money” to Step Back Think, a non-profit organisation working towards the prevention of social violence." more likely a drunken Cordy had a go at a drunken Boyd over, let me see, what does Boyd have much more of than his teammates that he doesn't deserve? Drunken Boyd took exception and snotted him. Nevertheless - nothing done wrong by the Doggies management at all. But it is news, and unlike Campbell Brown, Boyd is still employed.
AB
Guest
You are right on that last point Matty. I reckon the Bulldogs vs GWS rivalry is about to become what the Hawthorn vs Geelong rivalry was a few years ago. They'll be the league's two heavyweights for the next 5-6 years.
mattyb
Guest
I don't like pies,yes Barrett is incapable of acting professionally,you are correct.
mattyb
Guest
Gene Anderson-Conklin, (Cats Fan), (Cat), plenty of things happen at football clubs we don't hear about. I'd say a well run club doesn't let things into the media's hands. Why would a well run club be sharing bad news or exsadurated news with people? They have sorted it out, that's good. For all we know they probably had a drink and were skylarking like kids do. For all we know Zaine may have sustained an injury accidentally while him and Tom partook in skylarking activities. It sounds to me they were probably having a kick of the footy late at night so it was probably dark and some kind of mishap occurred.
Paul D
Roar Guru
There is absolutely no reason the Bulldogs should have publicised this. Once it became public they admitted it. They are a good, well run club. As is Geelong. Allen Christensen left under a massive cloud at the end of 2014, and you haven't said a word as to why. Because it's no-one's business, same as this.
AR
Guest
Gotta agree with some of the comments here. When a club releases a statement about the suspension of a player, you can hardly call it a "secret suspension".
Winston
Guest
This doesn't make sense. The Bulldogs dealt with it internally, and didn't want to announce it. It has somehow leaked now, so when asked about it, the club can make a decision whether to admit it, or lie about it. They've rightly identified that there's nothing to hide, so they decided to admit it. How does this make them not a well run club? There's no reason why they had to publicise this from the beginning.
Leigh
Guest
I imagine, since the club suspended these players more than 2 weeks ago, they fully understood the incident and outcomes then and there. so why is the story only coming out now?? if this is your idea of perfection, you need to buy a dictionary.
I hate pies
Guest
Barrett is incapable of being professional then, and obviously has an ego that betrays his miniscule standing in forty circles. It's good to see the boys having a bit of aggression; there's nothing wrong with a bit of biff after a few, it normally resolves any tension. We just need Boydy to translate that aggression to the footy field.
I hate pies
Guest
Good well run clubs make sure they go through due process to ensure that they fully understand the incident and outcomes before they go blabbing to the media. The bulldogs have handled it perfectly. The last thing they want is an Eddie Maguire/Heath Shaw type of incident.
Cat
Roar Guru
What makes it 'secret' is the club only acknowledged the suspensions after the fact and after stories started to appear. Good, well run clubs get in front of these things and don't hide them until they can't any more.
mattyb
Guest
Barrett is over blowing and taking pot shots at the Doggies ever since Beveridge had a go at him at the Brownlow. He has even stooped to pretending to right positive stories then after a semi nice paragraph he spends the rest of the time having digs. Sounds like the boys are getting a bit of practise in for up coming seasons. When our young players mature we will be an unstoppable force of brute and skill all over the field.
I hate pies
Guest
This is the second news outlet I've read saying it was a "secret" suspension. If it was secret they wouldn't have released a statement. Damien Barrett the football-issues reporting flog was also saying that they tried to hide it. Fair dinkum, that blokes just dirty that he couldn't drag someone elses name through the mud from his self-obtained pedestal. I'm sick of these media types thinking that they are the arbiters of society's morals. Go and report on the actual footy Damien.