MATTHEW Boyd will become the 11th Bulldog to play 250 games when he runs out against Carlton on Saturday night.

The 32-year-old will join club legends Ten Whitten snr, Doug Hawkins and Chris Grant, among others, to reach the major milestone.

But unlike the others, the hard-nosed veteran didn't bound out of junior football and take the competition by storm.

From going unwanted in his draft year to nearly joining the mass exodus at the Whitten Oval at the end of 2014, Boyd revealed to the AFL Record the rocky road he's taken to carve out a respected league career that has included captaining his club.

"I've always played my footy on edge because I've never really known what my future holds from year to year," Boyd says. 

"I'm far more demanding of myself and the standards that I set for myself because of a perceived lack of talent and natural ability. 

"But in saying that, because of the level of preparation I put into my body and game, that doubt disappears when I get out on the ground and it also builds resilience and mental toughness."

Although Boyd may have doubted himself at times during his journey, there's been a steady stream of respected AFL people who knew the product from Narre Warren in Melbourne's outer south-east belonged at the highest level. 

Scott Clayton, the recruiter responsible for discovering Boyd, considers the veteran "one of my proudest picks", while his current coach Luke Beveridge labels him "a terrific leader who our younger players look up to". 

The Record feature also takes a look at the life-long friendships Boyd has built, his evolution as a player and the post-football career he's been building behind the scenes. 

Read the full Matthew Boyd story in the round 14 edition of the AFL Record, which is available at all grounds.