Tom Boyd did not comprehend the magnitude of the Western Bulldogs’ 2016 premiership until the morning after.
His fondest memories are not from his Herculean goal from the centre square, but from the joy on the faces of supporters who thought they would never see their club win a premiership.
Cult hero Shane Biggs still gets stopped on the street by fans wanting to relive his epic play from final quarter.
These are some of the yarns that will be reminisced upon on Thursday night when the Bulldogs celebrate the 10-year reunion of their fairytale flag of 2016.
All premierships are special, but this one carried extra meaning for a club with deep working-class roots and had been on the brink of extinction. The connection to the community is what makes this premiership stand out.
Josh Dunkley, Jack Macrae, Caleb Daniel, and Jake Stringer – now playing for rival clubs – are attending the function. In Dunkley’s case, he is flying more than two hours from Brisbane.
Guests also include Melbourne coach Steven King, club great Rohan Smith and Hawthorn’s head of development Daniel Giansiracusa – all part of Luke Beveridge’s coaching staff that year – and former list manager Jason McCartney. Ashley Hansen, the Dogs’ VFL coach that year, and former development coach Jordan Russell – both now on Carlton’s payroll – can park their navy blue worries aside for a night.
Liam Picken is a likely absentee, while Joel Hamling, who limited Sydney’s superstar forward Lance Franklin to one goal, is now a Swan and will be at the function after being dropped by Sydney for the game.
The team will be presented on the field to supporters before the game. There will be a second event for members at the MCG on Monday night where skipper Marcus Bontempelli and favourite son Tom Liberatore will address the faithful. Club great Chris Grant will be there.
Beveridge has said he will not channel the energy of the 2016 Dogs, who crisscrossed the country to win four finals to lift the cup from seventh, though there are common themes with the team of today.
Once again, the Dogs have their backs to the wall, ravaged by injury, including a season-ending knee injury to key forward Sam Darcy.
Perhaps Bontempelli’s men can find inspiration from Boyd, a junior star who arrived at Whitten Oval with a huge price tag that recognised his potential rather than performance.
Boyd produced the grand final’s signature moment, pouncing after Franklin was dispossessed by a trademark desperate tackle from Dale Morris to drain a goal from 60 metres.
“The goal still stands out as the most significant moment in my career.” Boyd recalled to this masthead. “Just the eruption of noise and the shaking of the stadium, the sudden realisation we had done something historic.”
Boyd’s recollections are partially blurred by what he has seen from replays. Like the millions who watched from homes and pubs, he remembers Franklin’s gather and Morris’ tackle from the perspective of the camera.
“I remember from a first-person point of view when the ball drops in front of me, and when I pick it up and wheel and kick,” Boyd said. “I remember hopping sideways and going, ‘Holy shit, this is going to go in’.
“I couldn’t tell how far Jake Lloyd was away from the ball. I couldn’t tell where the ball landed or perceive it properly in the background of the Sydney and Bulldogs fans. I’m also a bit colour-blind so red and green mixes a bit for me.
“In my head, there’s no way the ball is not going to bounce forward because of how hard I kicked it. It was like someone wrote the script, it bounced just out of reach and got there just as Jake Lloyd got near – it was insane.
“Straight after that, the actual memory that stands out is the ground shaking. I didn’t hear the crowd, I felt the ground moving first.”
Bulldogs diehards may remember a more niche moment: Biggs’ desperation on the Great Southern Stand side (as it was known in 2016) with his series of smothers, lunges and a tackle during a chaotic passage that culminated in Picken’s sealer. Biggs’ teammates love calling him “Never Forget”, a nickname coined by podcaster Brad Hollis.
“The runner had told me you’re on the next rotation out,” Biggs said. “I looked up at the clock, there’s eight minutes to go, [and] if I get stuck on the bench, I won’t get back on.
“I thought, once I stood the mark and it come off my hand, I’ll try and kick a goal here and do something cool and get onto a highlights reel.
“I started running at everyone. I nearly got it [the goal] right at the end. When I was tackled, my eyes lit up, I looked at the goals, I could see them [and] then I got mowed down. It was good ‘Picko’ snagged the goal and made it look better.”
Biggs played every game in 2016 but retired two years later aged 27 and fell out of love with footy as he battled two hip replacements. From playing on football’s biggest stage, Biggs struggled with life afterwards as an apprentice plumber doing the coffee run for colleagues 10 years his junior.
He did not watch the replay until years later, after the pandemic. His brother is a Dogs fan, as was his late grandfather John, who died not long after the premiership.
“Most people in Footscray go for Footscray,” Biggs said. “It means so much to family and friends, and it’s something I’ll hold close for the rest of my life.”
Boyd did not grow up a Dogs fan so did not appreciate the historical significance of the flag until he saw tens of thousands draped in red, white and blue roll into Whitten Oval the day after.
“The magnitude can’t be measured on what happened just on that day, but the 62 years of suffering and falling short that makes the Bulldogs supporters who they are,” Boyd said.
“You’ll never meet a more appreciative fan base. It’s honestly one of the greatest parts of my life today to continue to interact with them in a positive way.”
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