GVGjr
17-12-2021, 10:42 PM
Smith (https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl)
The Western Bulldogs have granted star midfielder Bailey Smith an indefinite leave of absence from the club.
Western Bulldogs cult figure Bailey Smith is taking an indefinite leave of absence from the club for personal reasons.
The 21-year-old midfielder is completing his training remotely but football boss and club great Chris Grant is confident Smith’s preparation for next season won’t be impeded.
The Bulldogs also allowed Western Australian pair Tim English and Aaron Naughton and South Australian Caleb Daniel to train interstate pre-Christmas because of Covid-19 border uncertainty.
Smith’s circumstances are different to that trio as he focuses on personal issues, including but not restricted to private family matters.
“We remain in close contact with Bailey, and we respect and understand his need to spend some time away from the club at the moment,” Grant said.
“With such a short training block before the Christmas break for the AFL squad; we are comfortable to afford Bailey the time he needs.
“We’ll support him throughout, and he’ll return when he is ready.
“Bailey has maintained an extremely high level of physical conditioning throughout his entire career, and we’re looking forward to reintegrating him into the program at the appropriate time.”
Smith is known as an obsessive and dedicated trainer and has not missed a match in his first three seasons since the Dogs selected him seventh overall in the star-studded 2018 AFL Draft.
He has dethroned Richmond superstar Dustin Martin as the most-followed AFL footballer on Instagram with 355,000 and has become one of the most recognised players in the game.
But Smith told the Common Chaos podcast in October that there were mental health challenges which came with his overnight fame.
“We remain in close contact with Bailey, and we respect and understand his need to spend some time away from the club at the moment,” Grant said.
“With such a short training block before the Christmas break for the AFL squad; we are comfortable to afford Bailey the time he needs.
“We’ll support him throughout, and he’ll return when he is ready.
“Bailey has maintained an extremely high level of physical conditioning throughout his entire career, and we’re looking forward to reintegrating him into the program at the appropriate time.”
Smith is known as an obsessive and dedicated trainer and has not missed a match in his first three seasons since the Dogs selected him seventh overall in the star-studded 2018 AFL Draft.
He has dethroned Richmond superstar Dustin Martin as the most-followed AFL footballer on Instagram with 355,000 and has become one of the most recognised players in the game.
But Smith told the Common Chaos podcast in October that there were mental health challenges which came with his overnight fame.
The Western Bulldogs have granted star midfielder Bailey Smith an indefinite leave of absence from the club.
Western Bulldogs cult figure Bailey Smith is taking an indefinite leave of absence from the club for personal reasons.
The 21-year-old midfielder is completing his training remotely but football boss and club great Chris Grant is confident Smith’s preparation for next season won’t be impeded.
The Bulldogs also allowed Western Australian pair Tim English and Aaron Naughton and South Australian Caleb Daniel to train interstate pre-Christmas because of Covid-19 border uncertainty.
Smith’s circumstances are different to that trio as he focuses on personal issues, including but not restricted to private family matters.
“We remain in close contact with Bailey, and we respect and understand his need to spend some time away from the club at the moment,” Grant said.
“With such a short training block before the Christmas break for the AFL squad; we are comfortable to afford Bailey the time he needs.
“We’ll support him throughout, and he’ll return when he is ready.
“Bailey has maintained an extremely high level of physical conditioning throughout his entire career, and we’re looking forward to reintegrating him into the program at the appropriate time.”
Smith is known as an obsessive and dedicated trainer and has not missed a match in his first three seasons since the Dogs selected him seventh overall in the star-studded 2018 AFL Draft.
He has dethroned Richmond superstar Dustin Martin as the most-followed AFL footballer on Instagram with 355,000 and has become one of the most recognised players in the game.
But Smith told the Common Chaos podcast in October that there were mental health challenges which came with his overnight fame.
“We remain in close contact with Bailey, and we respect and understand his need to spend some time away from the club at the moment,” Grant said.
“With such a short training block before the Christmas break for the AFL squad; we are comfortable to afford Bailey the time he needs.
“We’ll support him throughout, and he’ll return when he is ready.
“Bailey has maintained an extremely high level of physical conditioning throughout his entire career, and we’re looking forward to reintegrating him into the program at the appropriate time.”
Smith is known as an obsessive and dedicated trainer and has not missed a match in his first three seasons since the Dogs selected him seventh overall in the star-studded 2018 AFL Draft.
He has dethroned Richmond superstar Dustin Martin as the most-followed AFL footballer on Instagram with 355,000 and has become one of the most recognised players in the game.
But Smith told the Common Chaos podcast in October that there were mental health challenges which came with his overnight fame.