CARLTON fans haven’t been able to see a whole lot of Jordan Boyd since his arrival at IKON Park last June, but VFL Senior Coach Daniel O’Keefe believes there’s plenty to be excited about from last year’s mid-season draftee. 

Boyd became a Blue last year when his new teammates were having an extended stay in Sydney, linking up with them following the mid-season bye. In just his second game of VFL football, a collision with the goal post brought about a knee injury which effectively ended his year.

However, his application throughout pre-season - his first of any kind at the elite level - brought about some significant development in his game, which O’Keefe said is starting to shine through at VFL level. 

After featuring in both AFL pre-season games, Boyd was named among the best players against Richmond in the final VFL practice match of 2022, and repeated the dosage in Friday night’s VFL opener against the Brisbane Lions.

“As a 23-year-old, he’s mature by age for a first-year player, but footy-wise, he’s still quite immature. What we’ve been able to see him do in his first summer at an AFL club is turn into this hardened, ready-made footballer,” O’Keefe said, speaking on Carlton Coaches’ Corner.

“His defensive craft is building, but he’s got that defensive mindset that sets him up to attack off the way he defends.”

AFL Senior Coach Michael Voss spoke regularly when he arrived at the Blues as wanting to embrace a mindset where everyone who was involved at IKON Park would be overseen with ‘a new set of eyes’.

O’Keefe believes it’s been an approach which has resonated well with Boyd, whose main attributes are evident as soon as you see him in action.

“If you’re getting picked up as a mid-season draftee, you’ve got some serious weapons. By foot, he’s beautiful on both sides of his body,” he said.

“He can penetrate the ball with his kicking: he gets it low through the air but with really good distance. There’s no doubt about what we’re trying to do, which is get him more of the footy by using run receives to set up our front-half attack.”

His effectiveness was evident in that practice match against the Tigers, when Boyd kicked two long-range goals in the first half despite playing across half-back. 

While his ball use is his main asset, O’Keefe said Boyd was continuing to make strides in the defensive element of his game.

He was playing in defence when he was recruited from Footscray’s VFL team, where he had initially broken through as a creative half-forward.

“His defensive craft from when the ball is in the air, to either be able to chase and tackle or defend his man before he can potentially get the ball, has no doubt been a big shift from his point of view,” he said.

“His field position has been a huge thing for him, which complements him getting the ball and receiving and using it moving forward.”