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GREATER Western Sydney and the Western Bulldogs are in a tug-of-war over young star Tom Boyd, after his manager said he would head home to Melbourne either this year or next.
On Tuesday afternoon, Boyd's manager Liam Pickering said the 2013 No.1 draft pick would be playing his football in Victoria from next year, or the year after.
He said Boyd was determined to return home and was keen to do so by joining the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs are offering to swap their skipper Ryan Griffen for the 201cm key forward, but the Giants insist they won't be trading him.
If the two clubs cannot agree on a trade by the conclusion of the NAB AFL Trade Period on Thursday, Pickering confirmed Boyd would play out his contract at the Giants before returning to Victoria ahead of the 2016 season.
Later on Tuesday, GWS said it welcomed Pickering’s comments that “Boyd will honour his contract with the club.”
Chief executive David Matthews said: "Given we have said Tom will not be traded under any circumstances, we are pleased that any ambiguity has been removed and we look forward to welcoming Tom back to training next month and preparing for the 2015 season."
Pickering said he didn't believe there was anything the Giants could do to retain Boyd's services beyond next year.
"He doesn't want to live in western Sydney any more - he wants to come home and you know what? He's going to come home," Pickering told NAB AFL Trade Radio.
"Whether it's this year or next year, that's what will happen.
"As we sit right now, he'll be requesting a trade to the Western Bulldogs at the end of next season."
If Boyd isn't traded to the Bulldogs by Thursday's deadline, Pickering said his client would certainly honour his existing contract.
But he described the prospect as "ludicrous" given Griffen wanted to join the Giants.
"If there's no trade done he'll be playing for the Giants next year, no question – he's a contracted GWS player," he said.
"I think it'd be a ludicrous situation to have a player playing for the Giants who wants to play for the Bulldogs and a player playing for the Bulldogs who wants to play for the Giants when there's a mechanism to get the deal done."
Pickering refused to discuss Boyd's potential salary at the Bulldogs, but said his desire to join a number of friends at the club played a significant role in him choosing the currently coachless club over others.
"He's played with a lot of those kids … he knows (Marcus) Bontempelli, he knows (Jake) Stringer, he knows (Jack) Macrae," he said.
"He's a very switched on young bloke.
"He doesn't want to live in Western Sydney, that's the reality – he wants to be home around his family and friends."
