Welcome to the Bulldogs: Bailey Smith

[soupman]

Re: Welcome to the Bulldogs: Bailey Smith

Some very odd posting from Bailey after our win today.

A straight up thirst trap with the word "healin", and then a collection of Europe videos with the caption finals>Europe.

Looked like a very lonely way to celebrate tbh.

[ledge]

Re: Welcome to the Bulldogs: Bailey Smith

Some very odd posting from Bailey after our win today.

A straight up thirst trap with the word "healin", and then a collection of Europe videos with he caption finals>Europe.

Looked like a very lonely way to celebrate tbh.

I read between the lines and it looks like he wanted to play this year and we said no and explained it as looking after his future.
Maybe he feels left out.

[jazzadogs]

Re: Welcome to the Bulldogs: Bailey Smith

I read between the lines and it looks like he wanted to play this year and we said no and explained it as looking after his future.
Maybe he feels left out.

Telling him he couldn't play to look after his future, isn't telling him he can't support his teammates.

I really hope the young fella is in a good space because the conjecture about his future would wear anyone down, but getting away to Europe only to post about the trip, reply to comments and clearly still be engaging with his socials is not necessarily the best way to combat it.

[BornInDroopSt'54]

Re: Welcome to the Bulldogs: Bailey Smith

Why Bailey Smith is bound for Geelong
ByJake Niall
August 25, 2024

Unless there is an unexpected twist, or the trade founders on the rocks of recalcitrance, Bailey Smith will be moving down the Geelong Road to play for the Cats in 2025.

Smith had been courted by Hawthorn, and there was still a possibility however slim that he would stick with the Western Bulldogs. But a series of factors the pecking order at the Bulldogs, Smith's knee injury and Hawthorn's choices mean that one of the AFL's most followed footballers is all but certain to be running around with Patrick Dangerfield and Tom Stewart from next year.

Geelong need Smith more than Hawthorn or the Bulldogs and, as a team with a track record of successfully handling players with complex off-field issues while winning games they are not a difficult sell to Smith or his management.

Smith's likely landing at Geelong has been touted for some weeks and this column can confirm, based on conversations with well-placed sources who don?t want to say anything until the dealings done, that 'Bazlenka' (his social media moniker) is Geelong-bound, unless something goes badly awry.

Why Geelong, who have 11 players aged 30 or more, and not the mighty rising Hawks, or the more talented team that gave him his career start

Smith's choice rests on a few key considerations.

One is that he wants to play as a frontline midfielder, rather than as a wing or high half-forward. Geelong will afford him that opportunity, given that Dangerfield is 34, Joel Selwood is gone, Mitch Duncan 33, Cam Guthrie 32, and Smith can act as a bridge between those in the career twilight zones and the kids the Cats have drafted.

Another factor is that Smith's pre-season anterior cruciate ligament injury deprived him of playing time in the Dogs midfield this year. Smith had been behind Marcus Bontempelli (like every other AFL midfielder), Adam Treloar and Tom Liberatore, and the latter pair have less capacity to play other roles than Smith.


When Liberatore went down with injury, Luke Beveridge threw Ed Richards into the centre square, and we soon learned that Richards, too, is an adept midfielder, who also added speed to a group that could be one-paced.

Had Smith not suffered the ACL injury, he might well have signed a two-year deal that took him to free agency. Or a longer term.

The Bulldogs have handled the Smith situation with maturity. They recognise he's likely leaving and haven't pressured or let it become a distraction in a season in which they've recovered and gained late-season momentum.

Hawthorn, in the meantime, have West Coast's key defender Tom Barrass on the hook and will be forced to give up their first pick to consummate that trade. Josh Battle, a free agent tall back, also has been weighing up whether to stay at the Saints or join the Hawks.

Clubs have only so much draft capital and the Hawks have a more immediate need for a key defender than a zippy midfielder. So their choice, too, has probably influenced the influencer's.


Smith also is an ambassador for the clothing retail giant Cotton On, which is an important Geelong sponsor and Geelong institution. Their relationship long pre-dates his interest in the Cats.

Arguably, the most compelling argument for joining Geelong, though, is that Smith will be joining a club that has many of the benefits of playing on Broadway big, high-vis games without as many of the potential pitfalls of crossing the Maribyrnong to join a monstrous Melbourne team.

Smith's self-acknowledged mental health challenges, combined with his massive social media following and his injury places a premium on the environment of his next club.

Geelong, by dint of Chris Scott's pragmatic approach and the self-regulation among the players, is not a club prone to overreact or get too stressed about players who find strife or have public issues.


Tyson Stengle's admission to a Geelong hospital, after being discovered non-responsive at a nightclub some weeks ago, is an example of how the Cats avoid thermonuclear reactions. The club offered minimal details about the incident, eschewing a hardline disciplinary posture. When questioned about the Stengle incident, Scott said it was an error by the forward, but the Cats treat the players as adults and that his health was paramount.

It's unclear whether Collingwood, Carlton, Essendon or beleaguered Melbourne could get away with calmly fending off the fourth estate as the Cats did. The Melbourne media is less excited by everything west of Werribee.

Geelong tend to protect the player, rather than adopting the path of righteous posturing and putting out statements about standards and so forth.

Bailey Smith, thus, will have to worry less about public consequences than how he wins respect and trust within the walls of Geelong; he will have no shortage of support and care from senior players and his coach.

Geelong will have a pretty late first-round pick, which is less than Smith would have fetched in 2021 after a pair of superb finals performances (v the Brisbane Lions and Port Adelaide), but should be the basis for a trade, bearing in mind that he is out of contract and is recovering from an ACL. In this particular draft, recruiters say it will be possible to land as good a player at pick 18 as pick eight.

Hopefully, Smith whose devotion to self-improvement and training was, if anything, excessive in his formative seasons can thrive in the relaxed professionalism of Geelong. He is a risk well worth taking.

[bulldogtragic]

Re: Welcome to the Bulldogs: Bailey Smith

If Geelong make a prelim. Their pick is say 15 or 16. Then add in Battlr compo, Ashcroft & Lombard it’s now Pick 18 or 19. Say a Camporeale twin goes mid terms it’s about Pick 20 for Baz. Spare me.

First this year and our F2 for their F1 is the minimum. That about two picks around 20. Still shit, but passable.

[ledge]

Re: Welcome to the Bulldogs: Bailey Smith

If Geelong make a prelim. Their pick is say 15 or 16. Then add in Battlr compo, Ashcroft & Lombard it’s now Pick 18 or 19. Say a Camporeale twin goes mid terms it’s about Pick 20 for Baz. Spare me.

First this year and our F2 for their F1 is the minimum. That about two picks around 20. Still shit, but passable.

Excuse my ignorance but do finals positions affect the draft ? I thought it was the ladder position after the H&A

[bulldogsthru&thru]

Re: Welcome to the Bulldogs: Bailey Smith

Excuse my ignorance but do finals positions affect the draft ? I thought it was the ladder position after the H&A

Yes finals do determine draft positions. If you finish 8th but win the flag you get pick 18.

[Axe Man]

Re: Welcome to the Bulldogs: Bailey Smith

If Geelong make a prelim. Their pick is say 15 or 16. Then add in Battlr compo, Ashcroft & Lombard it’s now Pick 18 or 19. Say a Camporeale twin goes mid terms it’s about Pick 20 for Baz. Spare me.

First this year and our F2 for their F1 is the minimum. That about two picks around 20. Still shit, but passable.

They won't make a prelim - after they lose to Port we will send them out in straight sets. Dual benefit of winning and improving our compensation for Baz.

[Bornadog]

Re: Welcome to the Bulldogs: Bailey Smith

They won't make a prelim - after they lose to Port we will send them out in straight sets. Dual benefit of winning and improving our compensation for Baz.

That would be so good

[Bulldog Joe]

Re: Welcome to the Bulldogs: Bailey Smith

I can't see us letting a top echelon player got to the PSD for nothing in return. We would expect something in return for him.

If we had taken this path with Dunkley we would be getting a better outcome from Bailey Smith.

Meet our trade requirements or miss the player.

Perhaps do a pick swap with Richmond instead.

If we play hard ball he misses free agency as well.

He can still sign with us for 2 years.

[soupman]

Re: Welcome to the Bulldogs: Bailey Smith

A player who will be fully focused on being the best he can. A player who is coachable. A player who won't be easily distracted.
A player who is going to be a great midfielder and capable of playing in the back or forward lines.

I hope Morris takes him under his wing and makes his transition as easy as it can be.

Smith is going to be a great addition for us.

If we had taken this path with Dunkley we would be getting a better outcome from Bailey Smith.

We effectively did do this with Dunkley, and traded him out 2 years later for a still shit deal.

I like the idea of pay up or PSD, but we are fooling ourselves and optimistic to the extreme if we think we will see any benefit from it.

[hujsh]

Re: Welcome to the Bulldogs: Bailey Smith

We effectively did do this with Dunkley, and traded him out 2 years later for a still shit deal.

I like the idea of pay up or PSD, but we are fooling ourselves and optimistic to the extreme if we think we will see any benefit from it.

Clubs care about the threat of the psd about as much as they do the ‘equity’ you build on earlier trades?

[Happy Days]

Re: Welcome to the Bulldogs: Bailey Smith

Having completed the mental gymnastics necessary to trick myself into thinking that Baz actually sucks I’d be perfectly happy for this to be done for anything more than pick 15 at the opening trade bell.

[Can Bar]

Re: Welcome to the Bulldogs: Bailey Smith

could we trade a second round pick to richmond for a high first round pick and send Bailey to the PSD. Or swap him with petracca and let Melbourne and Geelong haggle.

[GVGjr]

Re: Welcome to the Bulldogs: Bailey Smith

could we trade a second round pick to richmond for a high first round pick and send Bailey to the PSD. Or swap him with petracca and let Melbourne and Geelong haggle.

I suspect that would get squashed very quickly and it's in our best interest to get Smith to Geelong if that is his genuine desire.
Now If Geelong play 'silly buggers' and try and short change us then other options might come into play.