“I was a no name”: Confidence rising after Star’s  breakthrough

His story has been one that’s been oft-told in recent years, particularly throughout his breakout season of 2024. It wasn’t that long ago that the defender was playing for Spotswood in the Western Region Football League.

But it was even less time ago that Boyd was still wondering – more hopeful than anything – of the contribution he could make at the elite level. He was plucked out of relative obscurity in the 2021 mid-season draft, and played seven games in his first full campaign in 2022 before a foot injury ended his year prematurely.

It was a chat with Michael Voss in 2023 that sparked something in Boyd, and while he’s still finding his way, it’s been a case of trying to repay that faith ever since.

“It started last year when I came back from my foot. ‘Vossy’ said to me ‘we need you back in the team, it’s about time you play’. I personally at where I wanted to be, but he had belief in me that I could definitely play at the level,” Boyd told Carlton Media.

 

“It’s being able to play those games . . . that continuity of playing continuous games at the level allowed me to make mistakes, learn from it and feel more comfortable that I definitely belong.

“A lot of people around me helped, putting time into me and believing in me — I started to believe in myself. Brad Ebert last year, Aaron Hamill has put a lot of time into me: he saw a lot in me that I didn’t see in myself at the start.”

Boyd also mentioned his fellow members of the Blues backline who he regularly ran out alongside in 2024, from long-time mentor Adam Saad, to leaders Jacob Weitering and Nic Newman, to even newcomer Lachie Cowan.