The grand final day mistake driving Adelaide Crow Brodie Smith

BRODIE Smith reveals the biggest mistake he made on grand final day last year has become his greatest motivation. He opens up about the locker photos, teammates and coaching role that are inspiring him as he works to return from an ACL injury.

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THE biggest mistake Brodie Smith made on grand final day last year has become his greatest motivation after it imprinted an image on his brain that he cannot forget.

It was the hour before the now disastrous grand final against Richmond at the MCG and as Smith’s teammates ran onto the hallowed turf for their individual warm-ups, he and Mitch McGovern followed them out even though they weren’t playing.

Smith had been there 18 times before in footy boots, shorts and a guernsey but this time as he looked into the stands he was in suit pants, dress shoes and a jumper with a two-week-old surgically repaired anterior cruciate ligament in his knee.

Brodie Smith, middle, with his Crows teammates watch the presentation after last year’s grand final. Picture Sarah Reed

Smith underestimated how that would make him feel and if he had his time again he would have kept his distance but in those torturous minutes he promised himself he would be back there one day for real.

“We stood on the oval before the game but in hindsight that was probably a mistake, we should have just stayed in the rooms because going out there and walking on the oval and looking around at the stands wasn’t a great feeling,” Smith told The Advertiser.

“That was the worst part. But standing out on the ground I said to myself ‘I’m not going to let this happen again next year’.

“Then there was the first bounce and first quarter, and as the day dragged on it went from missing out to that helpless feeling of seeing where the game was going and knowing what the result was going to be.”

Prior to that, the hardest part of missing out was the grand final parade on the Thursday when Smith had to turn his phone off.

“I went and sat in a cafe somewhere and turned my phone off because there were all these photos and things saying ‘how good’s this’ on social media,” he said.

“I just sat there and was in a bit of a shitty mood.”

Brodie Smith on the bench with his right knee on ice after rupturing his ACL in last year’s semi-final. Picture Sarah Reed

Smith is comforted by Daniel Talia as his teammates belt out the club song in the win against GWS in last year’s semi-final. Picture: Reece Homfray.

The 26-year-old All-Australian defender sat in the coaches’ box for the game and rode every bump and felt every goal that condemned the team to a 48-point defeat.

Yet even as one of the more senior players on Adelaide’s list and certainly one of its most important, Smith didn’t feel it was his place to speak up in the detailed post-game reviews because at the end of the day, he wasn’t really there.

“Playing all season I felt the pain to a certain level, but if you’re not out there you’re not on that same level as the boys,” he said.

“Early on in pre-season we spoke a fair bit about the grand final and how the guys were feeling, and I realised then that I wasn’t quite on the same level as those who played.

“It’s frustrating because there is some guilt there because I wasn’t able to play and help them, even though there was nothing I could do about the injury there was guilt there because I wasn’t with them on the last day.

“I’m not overly vocal normally (in team meetings) but there are probably things you wanted to say from watching on, but at the same time you weren’t out there so you don’t feel like you’re on the same level as the guys who played.

“And you sort of don’t want to feel like you’re potting blokes when you weren’t out there.

“It was a weird period for me.”

Eventually however, Smith arrived at a point where he had to make a decision about how he was feeling.

He could stay angry and empty or think and act positive — as he did throughout the whole finals series — and use the injury and defeat as a driving force.

“And it has been,” he said.

“Doing the knee in the first final, traditionally it’s a 12-month recovery and straight away I said to the surgeon ‘it needs to be 11 months because I am not missing out again’.

“Obviously we’re in a good spot and the list is still really strong so my motivation through this whole rehab process is I’ve got to do everything right so I can be okay for finals this year.

“I’ve used that as motivation, especially watching the boys win the prelim and the feeling they had.”

Smith is a visual person who uses photos for motivation.

Inside his locker at West Lakes he has photos of himself celebrating with teammates and others of them supporting him after his injury.

But in the middle of all that is a photo of the AFL premiership cup which reminds him why he’s there.

“There are days you come in and you just don’t feel like going upstairs and jumping on the cross trainer,” Smith said.

“So it’s just a reminder that every day I’ve got to put my best foot forward because I want to hit that 11-month mark if I want to get back in for hopefully finals.”

Brodie Smith in the gym recovering from a knee reconstruction. Picture: Supplied.

Apart from seeing young players grasp their chance, the only other good thing about Adelaide’s lengthy injury toll this season is that Smith hasn’t been lonely in rehabilitation.

And he continues to progress exactly as he planned, recently joining in ball movement drills and contact work.

“The main sessions I do the warm-up and kicking or ball movement, then with the rehab group I’ve just started handball stuff like 3v2, then I’ll build on that and do full training for a month before I play with some conditioning like a mini pre-season,” he said.

“But it’s still so unknown, August would be 11 months which is what I’ve always aimed for but so much depends on how I pull up each week, and there’s still three months of work to go into it.

“The first month after surgery feels like two years ago but then I think ‘gee eight months has gone pretty quick’, and now that I’m doing more training it’s more enjoyable but when the boys are playing it’s dragging on because I want to be out there.”

As part of his rehabilitation Smith went to the US to see renowned injury rehab specialist Bill Knowles who has worked with Italian soccer star Mario Balotelli. But his biggest role model has been a lot closer to home.

“Cam Ellis-Yolmen has been awesome. He’s a good mate and went through it last year,” Smith said.

“But he’s a bit of a tough one because he flew through his rehab so if I compare myself to him I’m always going to be behind because I think it was seven months and he was right to go which is unbelievable.

“But from day one he’s been checking in on what I was doing and every little milestone I’ve hit he’s been just as excited.”

Been awesome to have this bloke every step of the way with me. Gets just as excited by my milestones as I do. Good luck tonight brother well deserved @Cam_EllisYolmen https://t.co/aXDsUiohtY

— Brodie smith (@Brodiesmith33) March 23, 2018

Before Smith injured his knee in a lunging tackle during the qualifying final against GWS, he’d only missed three of his past 110 games and they were due to concussion.

“Since I started footy when I was six this is the most I’ve missed so it’s been different,” he said.

But the injury has opened his eyes to another side of football — coaching — which may be his calling when he finishes playing.

Earlier this year Smith went to Melbourne with teammate Eddie Betts to do the AFL’s level two coaching course, this month he will help coach the state under-18s and the club sought permission from the AFL for him to sit on the interchange bench during Crows games.

“I’m not a very good watcher so it’s good to have a bit of a coaching role on the bench,” he said.

“I sit next to Heath Younie who does it every week and we look out for little trends we see in a game or if blokes are coming to the bench frustrated then we try to calm them down and talk them through it.”

Brodie Smith comforts Wayne Milera after he injured his hamstring on Saturday. Picture: Sarah Reed

Smith in the rooms after the win against Carlton. Picture: Sarah Reed

Smith’s absence has opened the door for the likes of Wayne Milera and, to a lesser extent, Tom Doedee to show their wares in defence and he couldn’t be more thrilled with their progress.

“Tommy has obviously worked really hard for his spot and I’ve seen him put in a lot of performances in the SANFL,” Smith said.

“You can see how competitive he is and he reads the ball really well, and his kick he’s worked really hard on which is good.

“I see it at training and haven’t had the chance to play with him yet so I’m looking forward to that.

“And Wayne’o coming in to the role that I guess I freed up so I’ve been trying to work with him and he’s just really keen to learn and he was amazing last week (against Gold Coast).”

He also didn’t hesitate when approached by state under-18 coach Tony Bamford to oversee the backline during the national championships.

“The leadership and helping younger guys out is something I’ve always wanted to do,” Smith said.

“And now that I’m not playing I’ve obviously got the time to do it.

“Bangers (Bamford) gave me a call earlier in the season and said there was a chance to work with the boys, so I did a bit in December and really enjoyed it and I’ll help the backs out in a coaching role.

“When you’re playing you can get caught up in worrying about your own game, but when the injury first happened last year trying to help the boys and stay positive in that first month sort of gave me the idea of trying to do more of it.”

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