THE WESTERN Bulldogs must protect feuding teammates Tom Boyd and Zaine Cordy because that's what families do, captain Robert Murphy says.

The duo, both currently playing at VFL level, have been suspended indefinitely by the club after an alcohol-fueled altercation.

"These things happen and we move on as best we can," Murphy told reporters outside Whitten Oval on Thursday.  

"(It's) never ideal but the boys have made a mistake and fronted up to those, and we've dealt with it as all good families do.

"We've fronted up to the incident internally amongst the players and the club, because we do think of each other as family. 

"We confront those things internally, upfront but we protect each other as well. 

"It's not ideal, of course you'd love to avoid these sort of things, but everyone makes mistakes and the boys have owned up to those mistakes and we move on from there."

Murphy wouldn't buy into how close Boyd is to senior selection.

The high-priced forward hasn't played at senior level since round four, after hurting his shoulder.

See Murphy's full comments in Thursday's Footy Feed.