Club: Western Bulldogs
2010 Brownlow Performance: 6th
WTS's 2010 Pre-Season Prediction: N/A
WTS's 2010 Post-Season Prediction: 9th X
Total Votes: 20
Games Polled: 9
Games Played: 20
Total Votes Breakdown: 4, 3, 2
Brownlow Odds: $21 (Courtesy of TAB)Boyd proved to many pundits last year that he deserves to identified alongside the likes of Ablett, and Judd in being one of the premier midfielders in the game. But can he take it a step further and match their feats by winning his first Brownlow Medal in 2011?
Approaching the 2010 Brownlow Medal many were unsure as to whether or not Boyd was good enough to take out the most votes for the Western Bulldogs, particularly because he needed to outpoll that of a previous Brownlow Medallist in Adam Cooney. But as we all know, he blew everyones expectations out of the water, amassing a surprising 20 votes to finish top dog... at, well, the doggies. Ok, that was a pretty terrible attempt at a pun - i'll grab my coat...
But before I do, let me give you a run down of his performance at the 2010 Brownlow and have a look into what possibly lies ahead for Boydy in Season 2011. So just how did he topple Coondog?
Ever since Cooney won the Brownlow in 2008, the umpires have rated his performances with more critical eyes, hence the reason he has only polled a total of 11 votes over the past 2 seasons. For Boyd, on the other hand, this has meant his polling ability over the 2009-10 seasons has improved; amassing a whopping 34 votes in that time.
This vast improvement is more evident by tracing his polling performances over the past 3 seasons, where his total votes have risen from 12 (2008) to 14 (2009), and 20 (2010). Is it conceivable that he has the ability to poll more than 20 votes in 2011? That remains to be seen, but one thing that will help his cause is the fact that he is now captaining the Western Bulldogs; meaning that he will demand more attention from the umpires during games.
The only worrying sign with Boyd is that he polled in a meagre 9 out of 20 games; which equates to an average of 0.45 votes a game. However, one sole factor one must remember in regards to his polling frequency is that over the past 3 seasons this figure has improved from 6 to 9. Thus, it is quite possible that with the increased exposure - both on-field and off-field - that comes with being a club captain, one can only assume that it is more than likely he'll poll in a greater number of games for 2011.
Can he win it? I believe he can. As long as he can keep polling more 3 vote games than he does 2 and 1 vote games - as he did last year - then he'll be in with a big shot. He is definitely one to watch!
**Predicted 2011 Brownlow Finish: 1st-3rd**
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