Bailey Smith linked with trade from Western Bulldogs amid form slump

Noise around Bailey Smith’s position, form and future is growing by the week. What’s it all about?

Bailey Smith’s form has come under the microscope.

Bailey Smith may be flat with his new role.

Only two years ago when he blazed eight goals in the 2021 finals series we were all weighing up the jet onballer’s claims as one of the most exciting players in the competition.

Was he or Sam Walsh the best talent from the 2018 draft?

Smith, with the chiselled frame plastered across Melbourne billboards, was the next big thing. The exhilarating run, the scoreboard impact. That flowing mullet.

Bailey Smith celebrates a goal during the 2021 preliminary final. Picture: Michael Klein.

But as Western Bulldogs attempt to hang on to their place in the eight on Thursday night against Sydney Swans at the SCG, Smith’s form is on the slide.

More than that, his name has emerged as shock trade bait. Mark Robinson posed the question on Sunday, that maybe Smith needed a new club and environment.

SEN said on Wednesday Geelong was chasing him.

Coach Luke Beveridge would have had a fit, after trying desperately to shut the whole thing down on Tuesday, clearly annoyed his match winner was a discussion point.

But on Wednesday the noise went in to overdrive as the Bulldogs boarded the plane to Sydney to take on the Swans at the SCG without Smith, who is sick.

Bailey Smith and Easton Wood after the Bulldogs’ secured their place in the 2021 Grand Final.

Smith would have to be a bit frustrated he is being parked on a forward flank, out of the action, on starvation corner.

According to Champion Data he has played 79 per cent forward over the past month and on Friday night he had 11 disposals after a late burst in the middle.

He was genuinely sick, and still is, the club says, which is fair enough. A concession perhaps he should not have played.

But how does one of the club’s best young players go from superstar in the making to trade bait?

His disposals (down by an average five a game), and score involvements (two a game) have spiralled this year, but he remains a match winner.

Smith’s form has fallen away in a new role this year.

While his impact has waned,and it might come as a blow to his ego, coaches say that is exactly what has to be parked in the selfless and relentless chase for a premiership.

It’s exactly what Taylor Adams has done at Collingwood. Christian Petracca was lauded for making the move at Melbourne against St Kilda last weekend.

Smith can do that. He can also run, and that’s why Beveridge would be putting him in arguably the hardest position on the field. To get on his bike.

The forward flankers need to be huge runners, like Geelong’s Gryan Miers, who can make the sprint up and down the field all day long.

Perhaps it is not easy to do that heavy lifting if you are a big possession-winner and aren’t used to watching others get the big lick of the ice cream, but would Smith really want to break his contract this year?

Perhaps he could reconsider when his deal expires next season.

The Dogs wouldn’t entertain it this year without a blockbuster return, such as a top-six draft pick.

Maybe a prime key defender, such as West Coast’s Tom Barrass, would suit to help replace an Alex Keath or Ryan Gardner.

Geelong has been linked with a play for Smith.

Gold Coast is looking to off-load pick six, which theoretically provides an opportunity for the Cats to land an early selection as part of a hypothetical deal, but there are more ifs here than a discussion about what the Reserve Bank will do.

If Geelong is keen on Smith, it’s not what the club said on Wednesday. But trade moves by nature are a secret business at the best of times. Denials happen. Heaps of them.

The Dogs do have a jet backman coming through the ranks anyway, as Sam Darcy looks like a special talent.

He will be back in the team intercepting in the back half as soon as he is physically ready after a serious lung problem.

Smith will miss Thursday night’s clash against the Swans due to illness, and is expected back against Essendon in a blockbuster Friday night clash next week.

Smith needs to lift for the Dogs to secure a finals berth. Picture: Michael Klein.

Finals spots will be on the line. The spotlight will be on Smith. And the position he plays.

Former Western Bulldogs and Richmond star Nathan Brown said the Bulldogs must return Smith to the engine room, where he produces his best footy.

“They have got it wrong where they are playing him,” Brown said on Triple M.

“He is a running machine and you have just got to let him loose, whether it is off half back or on the wing, he is a midfielder.

“He will play that role (forward) OK because he has been asked to play it.

“He didn’t play it well the other night because he had just had a poor game.

“But they are playing him in the wrong position.”