Bailey Smith and Noah Anderson set for showdown when Geelong face Gold Coast

Bailey Smith is the Brownlow favourite but the numbers don’t lie for Gold Coast counterpart Noah Anderson, who finds himself in rare air ahead of Saturday’s showdown.

The stage is set for a mouth-watering match-up between Noah Anderson and Bailey Smith as two of the game’s in-form midfielders prepare to lock horns on Saturday when Geelong hosts Gold Coast at GMHBA Stadium.

Smith, 24, surged to the top of the AFL Coaches Association voting following a standout display against West Coast last Sunday and is now considered a genuine Brownlow chance - if not the favourite - in his first season at the Cattery.

Just coaches four votes behind Smith, in second, sits Suns skipper Anderson, 24, whose game-high 39 disposals and seven clearances in the wet almost dragged his side over the line against Fremantle last Saturday.

Noah Anderson has had a stellar year. Picture: Getty Images

In the eyes of the coaches they are the two premier midfielders in the competition to this point of the season and it would be difficult to argue against that view.

Smith has shocked the football world with his incredible form after missing the entirety of the 2024 season with an anterior cruciate ligament injury, stepping into a new team and immediately establishing himself as a bona fide matchwinner.

Anderson meanwhile has elevated his game beyond his already high standards and is on track to shatter a slew of career-best benchmarks in his first season as Suns skipper.

And in a somewhat curious twist, a trio of superstar Geelong midfielders unknowingly have their fingerprints on Anderson’s evolution.

Gold Coast assistant coach Shaun Grigg, who oversees the Suns’ midfield, joined the club at the end of 2023 after four years at Geelong, first as a development coach and later an assistant coach.

He was in charge of the Cats’ midfield when they won the premiership in 2022.

Grigg said he already had a high level of appreciation for Anderson even before joining the club, and that had only increased over the past 18 months after working closely with him.

“He gave me a lot of sleepless nights coaching against him,” Grigg told this masthead.

“Noah has gone from strength to strength. Even in the time I’ve been at the club working with him.

“His smarts and his game sense are what stand out to me. The way he sees the game and understands the game is brilliant.

“And just his openness to get better and learn – he has picked my brain quite a lot. I’ve been fortunate enough to work with a couple of champion midfielders – (Joel) Selwood, (Patrick) Dangerfield and Gary Ablett Jr – in my time at Geelong and Noah is like them, he just wants to learn and improve his game in all facets.”

Bailey Smith. Picture: Getty Images

Smith has drawn praise for his incredible work ethic and ability to cover the ground, getting from contest to contest and impacting both on the inside and outside.

It is a trait shared by Anderson, whose two-way running is an underrated but valuable aspect to his game – something Grigg says he has worked hard to improve.

“As you get a bit more experienced you understand where to run and how to run. He has a willingness to learn and adapt in games and play a role for the team with his running patterns – he has learned that we can be more efficient if we work together,” Grigg said.

“His want to be involved in a good team and enjoy team success is greater (than his desire) to just run around trying to get the footy. He is buying in on setting up his teammates as well.

“He works well with (teammates) at training or in the vision room. He sets guys up and explains the why to them. He passes on details of craft, what has worked for him and what hasn’t.

“And he gives those younger midfielders, the Will Graham and Bailey Humphrey types, confidence. Whether it is him stepping back to put them in (the midfield) or making them the focal point of the midfield for a quarter … Noah Is very good at putting them in positions to help them succeed.”

Hawthorn great Luke Hodge this week declared Anderson was the best captain in the AFL so far this season, heaping praise at the feet of the youngest skipper in the competition for his on-field authority and ability to lead by example.

Not only is Anderson impacting matches through his own performance, he is consistently making moves on-field to allow his teammates to thrive.

Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson. Picture: Getty Images

“Teams have tried to tag him but because of how selfless he can be for the other midfielders (that makes it difficult),” Grigg said.

“He understands what is happening in the moment and can take on information straight away. Whether that is from the coaches box – you can mention something to him and he will get it done – or he just does it himself.

“He has the ability to change things out there and set up midfielders in different positions.

“For me it’s not just one moment. It’s all the time. At a stoppage or centre bounce set up he will quickly make adjustments. He is very smart and he makes the right decisions.”

It is at the coalface where Grigg has seen the most growth in Anderson this year.

Long considered the outside run and polish to Matt Rowell’s inside grunt work, Anderson is the ninth-ranked player in the competition for contested possessions per game.

He ranks seventh in that stat among midfielders, behind only Jack Macrae, Caleb Serong, Tom Green, Patrick Cripps, Zak Butters and Tom Liberatore.

Anderson enjoys a goal. Picture: Getty Images

Meanwhile, he also ranks eighth among midfielders for uncontested possessions – the only player in the competition to feature in the top-10 for both categories.

On that, you could argue there is no more balanced inside-outside midfielder in the competition right now.

“That comes with maturity, age and experience but also him being open to improving and learning and he has done a power of work in that space – he and (midfield teammate) Matt Rowell together,” Grigg said.

“They are Batman and Robin together. The way they can feed off each other and move around stoppage and know where the other is for a handball is quite special to see and I’m very lucky as their coach I get to see it every day. They are a great duo and they complement each other very well.

“We have put in a lot of early mornings; extra time, extra craft, technique, reps – he (Anderson) is certainly not the finished product. He wants to improve all the time.”

The Suns’ skipper has not shied away from his desire to play finals this season. He believes that, while there is a long way to go between now and September, the ‘f-word’ should not be a taboo topic.

Grigg said those aspirations were regularly discussed between player and coach.

Anderson and Rowell are striving to be the best. Picture: Getty Images

“He wants to be a finals player and play well in finals,” Grigg revealed.

“So we hold him to a really high standard in what that looks like. He has a great understanding of what that means now.

“It’s my job as a coach to continue holding him to those high standards and set him up for when we do get that chance to play in September, so that he is one of our best players (in those games).”

Saturday’s trip to GMHBA Stadium is a perfect mid-season opportunity for Anderson and the Suns to test their finals credentials against a perennial premiership contender.

The Suns have never won at Kardinia Park in eight attempts. Their average losing margin to the Cats at their home ground is a staggering 72 points.

“We want to test ourselves against that top echelon of the competition and that is Geelong,” Grigg said.

“We had that type of game against Brisbane a few weeks ago (at the Gabba) and we felt we let ourselves down in that aspect – we took some learnings from that about how we want to get better.

“Geelong has been a great team for a long time and we know it’s going to be a fierce contest. We know the contested ball and clearance work will be critical and we will have our job cut out in that area, but we are certainly up for the challenge.”

Originally published as Bailey Smith and Noah Anderson set for showdown when Geelong face Gold Coast