The Western Bulldogs vice-captain played 18 games in 2017. With Skipper Bob Murphy missing with injury, Wood often took the responsibility of captaincy.

His year was interrupted by a hamstring injury sustained in Round 20 against Brisbane. It didn’t require surgery, but kept the 27-year-old sidelined for the remainder of the season.

In July, Wood recommitted to the club for a further two years on top of his current deal. He’ll be at the Dogs until at least the end of 2020.

Stat that mattered:

Wood led the Bulldogs in intercept possessions, averaging 5.9 per game over 18 matches.

What they said:

“It’s frustrating (as a club) to be out at this time of year (and) it was frustrating for me to end the year injured. I’ve got the time now to get that right and comeback firing in pre-season and ready to go."

“I’ll work on being a lot more resilient. I don’t want to have another year where I get injured. I need to keep working away there.

“I think I’ve got a bit of scope to improve with my ability to use the ball along with targets and that sort of thing. I found myself up and around goals every now and then during the season so I’d like to have a bit more polish there and get a bit more bang for buck.”

- Easton Wood, September 2017