Coach reveals on Smith meeting with AFL boss
Geelong coach Chris Scott is confident star recruit Bailey Smith's 'low-key' meeting with AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon about his on and off-field behaviour won't curtail the brilliant start to his Cats career, adamant the Brownlow Medal fancy 'did most of the talking'.
Smith, who will return for the Cats against Essendon on Saturday after a brief injury lay-off, was part of a meeting with Dillon, Scott, Geelong football boss Andrew Mackie and chief executive Steve Hocking at his Surf Coast property last Thursday.
It came after Smith put himself in the spotlight when he alluded to recreational drug use on social media, having already twice been fined for an inappropriate gesture towards opposition fans. Bailey Smith flips the bird at the crowd. Credit: Supplied
Smith, who crossed to Geelong from the Western Bulldogs, also became embroiled in a verbal stoush with his former club after playing in front of a packed MCG and declaring 'you don't get that at Ballarat' after a crowd below 10,000 attended a Dogs game in the regional centre.
But Scott was loathe to 'overplay the importance of it' and Smith was even 'keen' to have the face-to-face meeting after Dillon had addressed the issues publicly on occasion.
'It was a very casual and low-key catch-up, as much as can be between peers when you've got a 23 or 24-year-old with the CEO of the Cats and the CEO of the AFL,' Scott said on Friday.
'I'm loathe to say too much because I don't want to speak on behalf of Andrew Dillon, but as a club we certainly appreciated the fact that he reached out.
'The takeaways would have been Bailey has a really good feel that he's got a lot of people supporting him.
'I think he recognised better post that meeting how much the AFL value what he can bring to the game and by extension to the AFL themselves. Cats fans love Bailey Smith. Michael Klein Credit: News Corp Australia
'I don't think he's ever had any trouble with this, but it has been reinforced, the responsibility that he has to the game as well. Those things kind of go hand-in-glove.
'The more I talk about it, the more I get concerned that I give the impression that it was three or four people speaking at Bailey. It wasn't like that at all.'
Scott said Smith, who has the support of the club and his teammates to continue to show his character, was in no way taken aback by the meeting and would continue to show his character.
'He actually did most of the talking – which is not unusual,' Scott said.
'It's been good fun to have him around the place. Players love him. Staff love him.
'We're on our toes, aren't we? '
'It's exciting, but we've said for a long time we don't have any intention of trying to fill our list with the same sort of person. He is unique but in the most positive sense of the word.'
Scott will notch a significant milestone on Saturday, coaching against his brother Brad, with the twins notching up a combined 1000 games as players and coaches.
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Bailey Smith's inspired showing in Geelong's 95-point thumping of Essendon vindicated the Cats' management of the Brownlow Medal contender's hamstring tightness, says coach Chris Scott. Smith, Max Holmes and Jeremy Cameron put injury-ravaged Essendon to the sword as Geelong leapt into second place on the AFL ladder with a 23.13 (151) to 8.8 (56) thrashing at the MCG on Saturday evening. Cameron kicked six goals to move to 44 for the season and pull clear of GWS spearhead Jesse Hogan (38) in the Coleman Medal race. Brownlow Medal contender Smith showed no signs of the hamstring issue that sidelined him against West Coast. The gun recruit finished with 41 disposals plus 760 metres gained as he and Holmes (873 metres gained, 36 disposals) continued their dynamic midfield partnership. "He just looked like he played the same way that he did the last time he played," Scott said. "He and Holmes are a pretty potent combination at the moment. "I think I was as clear as I could have been last week. It was one of those where he could have played, and then when you come away with a win, and then he comes back and plays so well, you feel a bit vindicated." Smith made headlines just over a week ago after AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon, Scott, Geelong football boss Andrew Mackie and CEO Steve Hocking met at his surf coast property, reportedly about emphasising his position as a role model. "I don't think that he felt like there was focus on him," Scott said. "I understand that there were questions around it. "I thought it was more the interest in something that's a bit unusual, like a conversation around the fire - that didn't really light very well. It's rare for an AFL CEO to do that with a young player. "I mean, we appreciated it, it was a step in the right direction, but maybe I misread it and I don't follow much of that stuff. "But I didn't feel like it was a negative that would have put pressure on him." Geelong will feel exceptionally confident heading into Friday's blockbuster against reigning premiers Brisbane at GMHBA Stadium. "I just go with the philosophy that the first half of the year generally you can't win anything, but you can play yourself out of it," Scott said. "It's just nice to feel like we're in contention." On Saturday, Shannon Neale (four goals) and Shaun Mannagh (three) chipped in, and skipper Patrick Dangerfield (two goals, 10 score involvements) was a constant threat. Sam De Koning was substituted in the third quarter after injuring his left shoulder, and Scott didn't have a definitive update on the key defender. Essendon haven't beaten Geelong since 2018 and have done so just four times over the past 20 years. The Bombers are several weeks away from regaining the injured Jordan Ridley, Zach Reid, Kyle Langford and Mason Redman, while Sam Durham is suspended for another week and Ben McKay (foot) is also sidelined. Sam Draper is among four players done for the season. Essendon ruck Todd Goldstein (30 hitouts, 20 disposals) battled hard, while Will Setterfield (31 disposals) and Jye Caldwell (28 disposals) were busy. The Cats led by 23 points at quarter-time, 35 at halftime and 49 at the final change, and relentlessly punished Essendon's turnovers. In the final quarter, Geelong drilled seven majors while keeping Essendon goalless. Essendon, on a three-game losing streak, face Fremantle at Perth's Optus Stadium on Thursday. "The scoreboard obviously says what it says. It's not someone's opinion. It is what it is," Essendon coach Brad Scott said. "But when you concede 107 points from intercepts and 72 of those in your back half, and you just give the ball back to a very well-drilled, well-organised team, they make you pay, so that's the big difference." 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"I think I was as clear as I could have been last week. It was one of those where he could have played, and then when you come away with a win, and then he comes back and plays so well, you feel a bit vindicated." Smith made headlines just over a week ago after AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon, Scott, Geelong football boss Andrew Mackie and CEO Steve Hocking met at his surf coast property, reportedly about emphasising his position as a role model. "I don't think that he felt like there was focus on him," Scott said. "I understand that there were questions around it. "I thought it was more the interest in something that's a bit unusual, like a conversation around the fire - that didn't really light very well. It's rare for an AFL CEO to do that with a young player. "I mean, we appreciated it, it was a step in the right direction, but maybe I misread it and I don't follow much of that stuff. "But I didn't feel like it was a negative that would have put pressure on him." Geelong will feel exceptionally confident heading into Friday's blockbuster against reigning premiers Brisbane at GMHBA Stadium. "I just go with the philosophy that the first half of the year generally you can't win anything, but you can play yourself out of it," Scott said. "It's just nice to feel like we're in contention." On Saturday, Shannon Neale (four goals) and Shaun Mannagh (three) chipped in, and skipper Patrick Dangerfield (two goals, 10 score involvements) was a constant threat. Sam De Koning was substituted in the third quarter after injuring his left shoulder, and Scott didn't have a definitive update on the key defender. Essendon haven't beaten Geelong since 2018 and have done so just four times over the past 20 years. The Bombers are several weeks away from regaining the injured Jordan Ridley, Zach Reid, Kyle Langford and Mason Redman, while Sam Durham is suspended for another week and Ben McKay (foot) is also sidelined. 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