Grant Boyd will line up for his 300th game against Young.
Not every footballer has grown up in the shadow of an Australian Rugby League Legend. Much less one that call ‘Dad’.
With this can come expectation. Some may hear the last name and see the young fella’s face and expect him to be his father. So, let’s make one thing clear.
Grant Boyd isn’t Les Boyd, but he is the son of Les and Judy Boyd.
Les carved out an incredible career in his playing days and Grant has done the same, but in his own way. He is still doing it now.
Called upon to play soccer early to develop some skills, Grant found himself quickly wanting the oval-shaped ball.
Good friend Jay Somers said even when Grant was in those very formative young years, he wasn’t that interested. In fact, as the years went by when age groups were still in single figures he didn’t feature in too many rep sides.
When the Coota Times did a Local Legend on Les, and asked Les when he was able to make a difference in the game, our response was, “The Penny dropped and I realised that I could affect the outcome in my early teens.”
Funnily enough it was similar for Grant. He got good and then he got better as he got older.
By the time he was in his late teens he had grown into himself and was having a big impact on the field. Back in the day, ‘Boyd’ could move and had a great offload: one that he still uses today at nearly 42.
As he matured and filled out, Grant started making rep sides and was on the bench for The Group 9 side as a 17-year-old. By 2005 he had won a premiership for Coota, the first since 1990.
Grant was versatile, playing in the Centres, Back Row and then up front. He was doing the hard stuff as a young fella in 2004, when the club was short on troops, before an influx in 05.
Good friend Jay Somers said, “It is 300 just for Coota. He has played more. He had two seasons he captain-coached at Temora, plus he had a season at Sawtell, where they won the comp. He went up there with three other Coota players and he also had a season in Darwin. So, he’s had another four seasons.”
“That could effectively be another 60 to 70 games on top, at least 350 anyway.
“Les reckoned that he was always the kid out the back picking flowers. Not interested, but then about under 10s, under 12s, he started to get right into it and then never looked back from there.
“I remember when he made his 1st grade debut in 2001, I think he was only 17 or something.
“I remember one year, 2004, we lost Scotty England and Butch and everyone. We didn’t have any big forwards and he was only young then… and he stepped up to play front row that year. I think he nearly won the Weissel Medal, he had a great year. Coota didn’t go very well, but that was sort of a breakout year for him.
“All the boys came back, and we won the grand final in 2005.”
If you look across at the Yass Valley Times paper, you will come across Chris Rawlinson whose career longevity mirrors Boyds. Born in August and in 1984 and chasing 300 games. It’s funny like that.
Great mate to Chris, Aaron Byrne said, “I coached with him in 2011. He’s not much of a talker, but does a lot by his actions.”
“He’s probably one of, if not the best, forwards in the Group for a long time.
Byrne joked, “He was certainly never the keenest trainer, but he’s 42 and he’s still playing first grade, so he’s done quite well. 300 games is a massive achievement and the way he has played his footy, and to still be able to play now is a huge achievement for him.
“He is very well respected around the club, and he has been a very good player for a long time.”
Somers highlighted the strength of the Kangaroos in the early 2000s and the effect they had on Group 9.
“Especially that early 2000s of Kangaroos and it was a pretty tough era there. And then of course, he came into those other eras when he was the senior guy then as well and took those young blokes through, like Rob Tulenew in the 2010s,” he said.
Generational players, such as Tom Miller, now lead the club, although Boyd has hardly slowed down his pace.
Somers said, “I’ve got a really good photo of when Tommy Miller made his 1st grade debut. He’s running in, running the ball up and Grant’s there, Grant’s handed it to him. I think I put it up saying, the old bull and the young buck, or something like that.”
Boyd’s return to Coota was somewhat accidental after going to West’s in early 06 before breaking his hand.
Boyd coached two seasons at Temora. They had a couple of good years, but they couldn’t get over the line for premierships.
Six years ago and at the age of about 36 when most have hung the boots up, Boyd did the same and no one would have held it against him.
Somers said, “It would have been 2021. That’s when all that stuff happened with George Tooke. I actually played that year too, funny enough. I think he played the next year as well. I remember we were watching a few games and we sort of got belted a bit and he was like, oh, I can’t leave it to these young blokes, he said. So that riled him up to play again there as well.
“He says he doesn’t love it, but he loves it and I don’t blame him. I mean, I’d love to play
too.
His nephew has been playing as well. So, I reckon he’s been loving playing with Jai (Willoughby). It is his sister Alicia’s young boy.
Somers joked, “If he sticks around long enough, he might get to play with his own son, Ledger.
“Judy and Les, have been seen down at the ground this year.”
The Times caught up with Judy.
She said, “It is a big achievement. Obviously, we’re proud of him. He’s very loyal and it comes through not just in his footballing, but with everything he’s been at, including the same job with the same employer for a long time. The loyalty just doesn’t come in sporting, it comes as a person and we’re as proud of him with that as far as his sporting career.”
“It is a big achievement, especially when he had four years away because he had a year in Darwin, and played up there and he had a year in Sawtell, which they won the comp, and then he went and he played as Captain Coach at Temora for two seasons.
“Grant is married to Cassie, and he has two children: Valley who’s 11 and Ledger, five. Valley plays League Tag, Grant and my other granddaughter coach her team. Grant’s coached them for a few years now, and Ledger is playing the Littlies so they just do tag and loves his football. So, we probably will have another boy coming through, hopefully, and play 300 games for Cootamundra one day.
“When he was about maybe 17 and he got picked on the bench for Riverina 1st grade, and that was sort of when he realised himself that he was probably a bit better than what he was when he was playing juniors.
“Some of the kids you look at today, they might not think that they’ve got any ability and it will just come with age.
“Grant has made some great friends through rugby league. It’s something that affects your life when you don’t even realise that you’re playing a sport and then you just get so many friends through the sport.”
Grant is set to be playing his 300th game on Sunday against Young at home in Coota with kick off at 2.35pm. Don’t miss it, the Bulldogs hate Young!
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