Western Bulldogs star Bailey Smith has officially requested a trade, after months of speculation over his future at Whitten Oval.
The out of contract Smith, who missed the entire 2024 season after injuring his knee over the summer, informed the club of his desire to move elsewhere in 2025, with the Bulldogs confirming the long-suspected news in a statement.
“Western Bulldogs midfielder Bailey Smith has informed the club of his desire to seek a trade this off-season,” the statement reads.
“The 23-year-old is yet to nominate a preferred club.
“Given Bailey’s immense talent, age and proven ability to influence games, the club will work diligently to ensure it is fairly compensated throughout the process.”
Smith is widely expected to join Geelong in 2025, with the Cats heavily interested in the midfielder, while personal sponsor Cotton On also has close ties with the Cats.
A trade may prove difficult, though, given the Cats top-four finish and qualifying final win has pushed their first-round selection back; however, with Smith out of contract, he and the Cats hold all the power in negotiations.
After being taken with pick 7 in the much-lauded 2018 ‘SuperDraft’, Smith quickly emerged as a star of the game, becoming the most-followed AFL player on Instagram and dazzling in the 2021 finals series in particular.
Smith kicked three goals, including a stunning last-quarter major from the pocket, to steer the Bulldogs to a one-point semi-final win over Brisbane, while a four-goal display in their preliminary final win over Port Adelaide marked him as one of the most exciting talents in the game.
After averaging 29 disposals per match in 2022, Smith couldn’t replicate his form in 2023, before a knee injury in the pre-season ended his 2024 campaign before it had begun.
At just 23 years old, Smith will be a major boon if, as expected, he nominates the Cats as his preferred destination.
He finishes with 103 games and 44 goals at the Bulldogs, which included playing 68 consecutive games from his debut in Round 1 of 2019 until early 2022.
Bailey Smith. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
Hinkley ‘aware of coaching mortality’ as Eagles loom
Embattled Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley is ‘aware of his coaching mortality’ and believes only a victory over Hawthorn in Friday night’s semi-final, according to journalist Tom Morris.
Having been a target of fans’ criticism for years following the club’s repeated finals failures under Hinkley, with Thursday night’s 84-point thrashing at the hands of Geelong their fourth consecutive finals defeat and eighth in total for just five wins, pressure will reach new heights if the 57-year old can’t somehow inspire the Power to victory over the Hawks.
Port remain underdogs for the key match, the first home semi-finalist in this position since the Cats against Sydney in 2017.
Speaking on Nine’s Footy Furnace, Morris said Hinkley ‘simply cannot afford’ to fail to reach a preliminary final if he wants to remain in charge at the Power.
“My understanding is Ken Hinkley is acutely aware of his coaching mortality,” Morris said.
“He believes anything less than a prelim final appearance will spell the end of his career.
“Whether he’s been told that specifically or not, I’m not sure, but that’s certainly what he believes.”
According to Morris, though, Hinkley’s oft-criticised tenure at the Power, during which he has become the longest-serving coach in VFL/AFL history to have never reached a grand final, hasn’t put off one interested rival, with West Coast monitoring the situation at Alberton closely amid their own coach hunt.
“What is absolutely still in the picture is West Coast’s interest,” he said.
“Now I haven’t confirmed this, but I believe that West Coast would be prepared to offer a long-term deal to Ken Hinkley, [on] lucrative cash as well.
Whether that would tempt him to leave a year before his contract finishes… but I think they’re all on the same page here.
“I don’t think Ken Hinkley’s going to be sacked and blindsided. I equally don’t think Ken Hinkley’s going to join West Coast and Port Adelaide are going to say ‘we want you to stay’.
“If that does transpire, it’ll be a fairly amicable situation, but it all rests on this week. They cannot afford to go out in straight sets.”
After a lengthy coach hunt following the sacking of Adam Simpson in early July in which several former Eagles players including Dean Cox and Ashley Hansen have knocked them back, the Western Australian powerhouse is believed to have current Geelong assistant coach Steven King, GWS assistant Brett Montgomery and Richmond assistant and 2023 caretaker Andrew McQualter on its short list, though Hinkley’s availability would change things dramatically.
Hinkley will match 2004 premiership coach Mark Williams’ record of 273 games at the helm in Friday night’s semi-final, and he has a winning record of over 60 per cent despite his poor September history.
The Power have finished in the top four four times in the last five years, with top-two finishes in three of them.
Ken Hinkley addresses Port Adelaide players. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
Veteran Cat cops horror VFL injury
Geelong veteran Gary Rohan has suffered a horror injury in the Cats’ VFL semi-final loss, all but ending his season despite the AFL team’s progression to a preliminary final.
Playing alongside Cats greats Tom Hawkins and Cameron Guthrie in a bid to stake his claim to be recalled for the prelim, Rohan copped a stray elbow early in the first quarter of their loss to Southport at GMHBA Stadium.
The 33-year old was quickly ruled out of the game with concussion, but in a further blow, scans confirmed he had sustained a fractured skull in the incident that will require surgery.
Rohan has played just 12 AFL games in an injury-riddled 2024, with the 2022 premiership player the starting sub in four of those games and failing to run out his most recent two.
With the Cats’ forward line gelling superbly in recent times, putting 20 goals on Port Adelaide in their 84-point qualifying final thrashing, neither Rohan nor Hawkins were certainties to be recalled for the preliminary final even before the former’s injury.
Hawkins’ selection will be a key discussion point over the next week, with replacement Shannon Neale performing well with the veteran sidelined since June with a foot injury.
Gary Rohan of the Cats celebrates a goal. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
Massive Hawks blow with key back to miss rest of finals
Key Hawthorn defender Sam Frost will miss the rest of the Hawks’ AFL finals charge after suffering a foot injury in the rousing win against the Western Bulldogs.
Frost played an important role in curbing the Bulldogs’ dangerous forwards in the 37-point elimination final win at the MCG on Friday night.
But the 31-year-old hobbled from the field late in the last quarter, with scans revealing bone stress in his foot.
“Unfortunately, the scans have confirmed that Sam has a bone stress injury in his foot, and given his specific injury, he will not be able to take any further part in our 2024 finals campaign,” Hawks head doctor Liam West said.
“Sam will spend the next period offloading in a moon boot whilst we continue to assess him to determine a more accurate recovery timeline.”
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As well as missing Frost, Hawthorn are also expected to rule out star midfielder Will Day from returning for Friday night’s semi-final against Port Adelaide.
Day has been sidelined since hurting his collarbone in the Hawks’ Round 23 smashing of Richmond.
(AAP)