Premiership captain. Charles Sutton Medallist. All Australian. One-club player.
It’s a CV that leaves a legacy at the Western Bulldogs and Easton Wood exits the game in the best way possible, on his terms.
The 32-year-old finally had his chance to say goodbye to the football club this week after COVID left the 188-game veteran to retire virtually to players and staff.
Standing in front of his peers, Wood conveyed his gratitude and spoke of the special journey he’d taken at the Bulldogs.
“I never expected to be in this position,” Wood told his teammates.
“To be able to stand in front of the group after my journey, I never thought I would be the one to have the privilege to actually retire on my own terms after a long career.
“To be here retiring after 14 years having played 100+ games and captained the club is really special and quite surreal.
“Over the course of 2021, I did my third hamstring for the year in Round 9 and 20th overall. It felt like that was a bit of a ‘line in the sand’ moment and I wasn’t sure I could do them anymore.
“As an athlete when you’re in the position and the time comes, when you know, you know.”
Wood was instrumental in the Bulldogs’ 2016 flag, becoming the second Premiership captain in the Club’s history.
“I never thought I would be a leader in this football club, particularly after my journey early,” he said.
“I spent more time being interrogated by the leadership group than actually showing leadership qualities.
“That whirlwind of becoming vice-captain and Bob going down with his knee and becoming stand in captain. The support of Bevo and Bob was amazing.
“I am incredibly proud of being captain of this football club.”
The Geelong Grammar product didn’t have it all his own way early in his career, regaling the story of a trip to the Williamstown twos.
“I had to drive down to Williamstown on a Thursday night in the middle of winter and it was dark, cold, wet and blowing a gale,” he said.
“I go and sit in the rooms only to find out I had been dropped from the Williamstown seniors and I was playing twos… again.
“It was a really brutal setup and I never felt further away from it – I mean I meant to be an AFL player and I’ve got two whole levels to get up. It’s just not going to happen.”
Despite achieving plenty of individual accolades, the Premiership in 2016 stands out as Wood’s finest moment on a football field.
“Another memory that will stick with me forever is when the Grand Final siren went in 2016,” Wood described.
“There wasn’t a single moment leading up to that game that I let myself dream of what it would be like to win the premiership.
“I was so focused on what it was going to take and I just wanted to live in the moment and enjoy every part leading in.
“When that siren went, I was totally unprepared for the moment and just how overwhelmingly emotional it was. The gravity of the finality of that siren going and that we had won it forever."
While the achievements on-field remain special, it is the constant interaction with players inside the four walls that Wood will always remember.
“The one thing I know I will miss the most is the locker room aspect of coming in and sitting around,” he said.
“You don’t have to organise anything, you just get to come in every day and make memories with your friends.
“This group has only gotten better the longer I have been here, really caring and look out for each other.
“It is such a special place to be.”
