Western Bulldogs premiership defender Matthew Boyd says his close relationship with Justin Longmuir played a key role in convincing him to join Fremantle’s AFL coaching ranks.
Boyd played 292 games for the Bulldogs between 2003 and 2017, captaining the side for three years and earning three All-Australian jumpers.
The 38-year-old joined Collingwood as a development coach in 2018 and worked alongside Longmuir for two seasons.
When Longmuir was appointed senior coach of the Dockers at the end of 2019, Boyd took over as defence coach at Collingwood.
Boyd said the chance to work with Longmuir again was a key factor in his decision to join Fremantle as the club’s defence coach.
“He’s been an amazing mentor to me in the short coaching career that I’ve had so far and this was an opportunity to continue to learn from him,” Boyd said.
“It’s an exciting time to be a part of the Fremantle Dockers after a really positive year and I know that the footy club is heading in the right direction.
“To be a part of that at the start of a really exciting journey was something that appealed to me.”
Longmuir said he was looking forward to working with Boyd again.
“Matthew is a person of really high character and I’m looking forward to seeing him get around our young players,” Longmuir said.
“I thought he was a really driven young coach when he was at Collingwood and he really helped me a lot.
“I also look forward to helping him develop his coaching career.
“He’s a good relationship builder.
“He’s very good at working with players one-on-one and he understands what it takes to be a professional footballer for a long time.”