TOM BOYD booted five second-half goals in Footscray's crushing 81-point VFL victory over Coburg at Whitten Oval on Saturday afternoon.

The key forward grew in confidence as the match wore on and the weather cleared, after near apocalyptic conditions greeted the players in the first half of the match as the rain tumbled down.

Boyd nailed three goals in a row in the third term as the torrential rain slowed, and his fourth major was the highlight of his day, as he steered through a well-taken set-shot from tight on the boundary.

The Bulldogs big man also spent time in the ruck as the coaching staff rotated Jordan Roughead, Tom Campbell and Boyd through the position.

Boyd was a presence in the air in attack in the second half while he also showed an ability to be clean in traffic in his stints on the ball.

Roughead was also dangerous in the air against an under-sized Coburg defence after missing last week's win over Essendon due to a concussion he sustained against West Coast in round two.

The 22-year-old Boyd, who has not been selected at AFL level this season due to a lack of form, must improve his ability to cover the ground but his performance on Saturday was encouraging.

"There was a 10-minute patch in that third quarter where he took a couple of marks inside 50 and kicked three goals in that period, and he was having some influence over the game, which is tremendous," Dogs coach Luke Beveridge said after his side's loss to Sydney at Etihad Stadium.

"He's been searching for that and he's probably been a little bit frustrated in that he's been a little bit off, (but there were) some good signs from him today."

Fellow forward Josh Schache finished the game on the bench with ice on his left ankle and will need to be assessed during the week.

Schache was quiet for the Bulldogs in his return from a low-grade calf strain and will need to improve with his intensity around the ball before being considered for AFL selection.

Rookie Brad Lynch appeared to suffer a serious hamstring injury in the final term, with the defender having to be helped into the rooms by trainers.

Lynch is yet to play a senior game for the Bulldogs after being taken with pick No.11 in the 2015 NAB AFL Draft.

Midfielder Lukas Webb was prolific for the Bulldogs after being dropped a fortnight ago, winning the ball in tight and pumping the ball forward.

Defender Lewis Young, in his customary long sleeves, was excellent in reading the play behind the ball and was close to the Bulldogs' best player on the afternoon.