TOM BOYD'S move to the ruck could have been the turning point in his career. 

With Jordan Roughead succumbing to a nasty eye injury in the second quarter of the Bulldogs' preliminary final against GWS, Boyd was left to ruck solo against Shane Mumford and Rory Lobb.

List manager Jason McCartney said it gave Boyd the confidence he needed to perform the way he did on Grand Final day, where he arguably played the best game of his career to come third in the Norm Smith Medal.

"He'd shown some really positive signs over the last few weeks," McCartney said.

Boyd's coming of age

"He wasn't able to string consistent performances together earlier in the year, but he's just built beautifully over the last few weeks.

"Putting him in the ruck, it's such a combative position, and it's given him a lot of confidence."

Boyd had come under intense scrutiny since he joined the Bulldogs at the end of 2014 on a seven-year, seven million-dollar contract, but silenced the critics with a three-goal, eight-mark performance in the Grand Final.

He also showed enormous poise to kick what proved to be the sealer, picking up a loose ball and slamming it home from inside the centre square.

While he was goalless in his three previous finals, Boyd proved to be an integral part of the Bulldogs' structure, and Saturday's performance was reward for effort.