It was sports theatre at its best.

When the GWS Giants ran out onto the ground for the first time before Saturday’s preliminary final, the roar of disapproval from the 8,000 plus travelling Western Bulldogs was deafening and, according to Tom Boyd, galvanising.

“It was amazing," Boyd told westernbulldogs.com.au on Monday.

“I was sort of surprised by it but then in our second warm up, the Giants chant started, and then five or six seconds later the Bulldogs chant overawed it and echoed around the ground.

“I was standing there having shots at goal, thinking, this is just unbelievable.

“I was so proud of how much our fans turned out and gave us such great support.”

With the weekend’s six-point win over the Giants, the Bulldogs made their first Grand Final since 1961 but Boyd said the group isn’t weighed down by expectations of a fan base that hasn’t tasted the ultimate success since 1954.

“I think the overwhelming emotion coming out of the fans is just excitement and pride of what we’ve been able to achieve so far," he said.

While Boyd said the group is aware of what’s come before, they’re out to make their own history.

“You know, one of the great things that the Western Bulldogs, or Footscray as a Club, has is a deep and really strong connection with the suburb of Footscray and the western suburbs as a whole. 

“Our history is strong and full of challenges and adversity and really resonating through that is that underdog spirit, and I think we tie into that a little bit, but we’re just trying to create our own history at the moment. 

“Week to week we’re just trying to break new ground and take our game to new heights.”

Outside of former Hawk Matthew Suckling, assistant coaches Joel Corey and Steven King, and coach Luke Beveridge, the coming week will be a new experience for most of Club, but Boyd said he will try and enjoy the ride as much as he can.

“It was funny, I spoke to Dad this morning and said, it’s day one of grand final week, it’s bizarre and amazing.

“You turn up to the Club and there are people everywhere, there’s fans, the car park’s full and there will obviously be a big turnout at our open training sessions, so it does feel a little bit different but I suppose enjoying those little differences is the most important part of the week.”