Western Bulldogs star Easton Wood’s AFL premiership medal has been stolen.
Victoria Police allege it was taken during a burglary in the inner Melbourne suburb of Albert Park between April 14 and 26.
Wood, 30, stood in for injured captain Bob Murphy captain in the Bulldogs’ drought-breaking grand final win over Sydney in 2016.
His medal is one of several items of sentimental value that were stolen, including a World War I identification tag belonging to Wood’s wife Tiffany.
Wood had hoped to pass on his premiership medal to daughter Matilda.
“A medal is the symbol of hard work over a career and what we achieved as a team in that year,” Wood said.
“It’s awful to have that symbol gone and that bit of history in my own life.”
A premiership watch, jewellery and a drone were among the items stolen.
The family was not home during the burglary, having chosen to visit Wood’s mother’s property at Camperdown after the AFL shutdown period was announced.
Wood said the burglary had raised further issues about him potentially having to spend time away in a quarantine hub as the AFL considers ways to restart the season.
“We’ve taken some measures now to increase the security at our property but that is a concern,” Wood said.
Police said the silver World War I service identification tag is engraved with ‘Sayers SA 1830’ on the front and ‘Nugget’ on the back.