![\"Andrew](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/ddb439a35602544b713c38672523d9b13febc6cda49bcf2dcf93af2f2438157f.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
April 23, 2026 \u2014 5:00am<\/p>\n
Save<\/p>\n
You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n
Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n Save this article for later<\/p>\n Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime.<\/p>\n Got it<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Tom Boyd did not comprehend the magnitude of the Western Bulldogs\u2019 2016 premiership until the morning after.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Cult hero Shane Biggs still gets stopped on the street by fans wanting to relive his epic play from final quarter.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Josh Dunkley, Jack Macrae, Caleb Daniel, and Jake Stringer \u2013 now playing for rival clubs \u2013 are attending the function. In Dunkley\u2019s case, he is flying more than two hours from Brisbane.<\/p>\n Guests also include Melbourne coach Steven King<\/a>, club great Rohan Smith and Hawthorn\u2019s head of development Daniel Giansiracusa \u2013 all part of Luke Beveridge\u2019s coaching staff that year \u2013 and former list manager Jason McCartney. Ashley Hansen, the Dogs\u2019 VFL coach that year, and former development coach Jordan Russell \u2013 both now on Carlton\u2019s payroll \u2013 can park their navy blue worries aside for a night.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Liam Picken is a likely absentee, while Joel Hamling, who limited Sydney\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Related Article 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Once again, the Dogs have their backs to the wall, ravaged by injury, including a season-ending knee injury to key forward Sam Darcy<\/a>.<\/p>\n Perhaps Bontempelli\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Boyd produced the grand final\u2019s signature moment, pouncing after Franklin was dispossessed by a trademark desperate tackle from Dale Morris<\/a> to drain a goal from 60 metres.<\/p>\n \u201cThe goal still stands out as the most significant moment in my career.\u201d Boyd recalled to this masthead. \u201cJust the eruption of noise and the shaking of the stadium, the sudden realisation we had done something historic.\u201d<\/p>\n Boyd\u2019s recollections are partially blurred by what he has seen from replays. Like the millions who watched from homes and pubs, he remembers Franklin\u2019s gather and Morris\u2019 tackle from the perspective of the camera.<\/p>\n \u201cI 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,\u201d Boyd said. \u201cI remember hopping sideways and going, \u2018Holy shit, this is going to go in\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cI couldn\u2019t tell how far Jake Lloyd was away from the ball. I couldn\u2019t tell where the ball landed or perceive it properly in the background of the Sydney and Bulldogs fans. I\u2019m also a bit colour-blind so red and green mixes a bit for me.<\/p>\n \u201cIn my head, there\u2019s 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 \u2013 it was insane.<\/p>\n \u201cStraight after that, the actual memory that stands out is the ground shaking. I didn\u2019t hear the crowd, I felt the ground moving first.\u201d<\/p>\n Bulldogs diehards may remember a more niche moment: Biggs\u2019 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\u2019s sealer. Biggs\u2019 teammates love calling him \u201cNever Forget\u201d, a nickname coined by podcaster Brad Hollis.<\/p>\n Editor’s pick \u201cThe runner had told me you\u2019re on the next rotation out,\u201d Biggs said. \u201cI looked up at the clock, there\u2019s eight minutes to go, [and] if I get stuck on the bench, I won\u2019t get back on.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought, once I stood the mark and it come off my hand, I\u2019ll try and kick a goal here and do something cool and get onto a highlights reel.<\/p>\n \u201cI 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 \u2018Picko\u2019 snagged the goal and made it look better.\u201d<\/p>\n 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\u2019s biggest stage, Biggs struggled with life afterwards as an apprentice plumber doing the coffee run for colleagues 10 years his junior.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cMost people in Footscray go for Footscray,\u201d Biggs said. \u201cIt means so much to family and friends, and it\u2019s something I\u2019ll hold close for the rest of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThe magnitude can\u2019t 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,\u201d Boyd said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ll never meet a more appreciative fan base. It\u2019s honestly one of the greatest parts of my life today to continue to interact with them in a positive way.\u201d<\/p>\n Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"Tom](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/84f3d7c9e3b0f645b81b66e2dbe686e1dc6eed49.jpeg\")
Tom Boyd celebrates the Western Bulldogs 2016 premiership.Graham Denholm<\/p>\n![\"Bulldogs](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/3990553eac6f75062b70533118efcb07d79d2168.jpeg\")
Bulldogs premiership captain Easton Wood celebrating the 2016 premiership.Scott Barbour<\/p>\n![\"Marcus](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776890058_362_2aa990d33ffbc0b0c057daab6b702af412836e22.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Christian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776870693_6_2f874a137d8edd36247a2797d80e4b55f28e8245.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n