By Andrew Wu and Peter Ryan
Star Geelong recruit Bailey Smith says he was flying the flag for skipper Patrick Dangerfield when he made his double bird gesture to the crowd on Thursday night.
The AFL fined Smith $1500 on Friday, down to $1000 with an early plea, for the gesture he made while walking down the Adelaide Oval players’ race after the Cats’ stirring come-from-behind victory over Adelaide.
“[It was] probably not my best moment,” Smith told Seven on Friday. “[I was] just walking off, [and] getting around the fans, [and] someone [was] getting stuck into Danger a bit more than he should have. We’re in enemy territory. I kind of love that sort of stuff – I love the back and forth between the fans.
“If I had my time again, I probably shouldn’t have done the double bird. It’s all part of it. There’s only so much you can cop. I expect a fine. Don’t talk shit to the skipper, I guess.”
Footage emerged on social media of Smith raising both middle fingers to a fan as he and his teammates left the field after the opening match of Gather Round.
Smith can be seen high-fiving a supporter leaning over the race before responding to another fan, wearing a Crows scarf and club polo, whom he said was hurling personal abuse at Dangerfield.
It is unclear from the footage on social media, and on Fox Footy, exactly what the fan said, but he can be clearly seen on the broadcast leaning over the railing and making comments in the direction of Dangerfield and Smith, who was walking behind his captain. Smith said he was attempting to defend Dangerfield.
Geelong skipper Patrick Dangerfield disappears down the race at Adelaide Oval with teammate Bailey Smith, who’d seconds earlier been interacting with footy fans.Credit: AFL Photos
“A little bit,” Smith said. “He can’t do it, mate, he’s got a good image to uphold, whereas I’m a bit different.
“I just don’t like some of the stuff that was being said at the end of the game. It was good to win there. Obviously, you want to win with grace. That wasn’t anything untoward towards [the] Adelaide Crows in general, just the one bloke who was making a big effort to get stuck into Danger.
“[It was] just stuff about him at the Crows – just a bit of personal stuff. That’s where it crosses the line. You can judge performance as much as you like. When you start getting into deeper details, it’s probably a bit far.”
Smith said he had been quizzed by the AFL’s football boss Laura Kane over the incident.
West Coast’s young star Harley Reid was fined $1000 for raising his middle finger in response to treatment from the crowd in the Eagles’ loss to the Lions at the Gabba in round two.
“[I’ll] just get a fine, it’s obviously just a bad look, which I completely agree with,” Smith said. “Hopefully, it’s not too hefty, which we’ll see. I might get Danger to pay for it, hopefully.”
Smith was among the best players on the field, amassing a game-high 35 possessions and booting a goal, in the Cats’ come-from-behind 19-point victory over the Crows.
It was Smith’s fourth game for Geelong since crossing from the Western Bulldogs in the off-season, and he has formed a close on-field bond with fellow onballer Max Holmes.
“I think Smith complements Holmes pretty well,” Cats coach Chris Scott said post-match. “Every team that has a really good player always says it would be nice if you had two of them. I’m not saying they’re exactly the same, but they are more similar than other guys in our team.”
Meanwhile, Crows recruit James Peatling is set to miss next week’s game against his former club Greater Western Sydney after a sling tackle on Geelong’s Oisin Mullin.
Peatling had an arm pinned in the tackle and drove Mullin to the ground. Though Mullin was not injured in the tackle (he was subbed out with an unrelated knee injury), the potential for injury meant the impact of Peatling’s action was graded as medium, leading to a one-game ban.
Jeremy Cameron celebrates one of his four goals against Adelaide.Credit: AFL Photos
Pep talk fires Cats forwards to victory
Peter Ryan
With his team eight points down as he left the huddle at three-quarter-time, Cats’ forward Jeremy Cameron and his skipper Patrick Dangerfield sauntered into the forward line.
Between them, the pair have a Brownlow Medal, a Coleman Medal, six club best-and-fairest awards, 12 All-Australian blazers and were teammates in the 2022 premiership.
Dangerfield took in what the laconic, occasionally distracted, always capable Cameron had to say.
“He said ‘this is what we are paid to do. This is the time to turn the game’,” Dangerfield recalled post patch.
“We are senior leaders within the team … we kicked two early and everyone else jumped on board. It was a great example of leadership from him.”
Cameron kicked the first two goals of the quarter, Dangerfield kicked the next two. Within 10 minutes, the imperious pair had put the game out of the Crows reach.
They finished with eight between them for the game as they kicked into gear as a unit inside 50 for the first time this season, leading the Cats to an impressive win, 18.11 (119) to Adelaide’s 15.10 (100).
Cameron’s performance was his best for the season. It came after he spent time on the bench in the second quarter as Geelong slipped five goals behind the Crows.
Cameron and Dangerfield are proving dangerous in front of goal for Geelong.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images
Cats’ coach Chris Scott would not elaborate on what, if anything, was said during that period on the pine, but whatever happened transformed the 32-year-old.
“I don’t want to say [if anything was said] but I have got admiration for players who meet the moment,” Scott said.
Dangerfield wasn’t panicking at the state of the scoreboard as Bailey Smith, Max Holmes and Tom Atkins went to work in the middle.
“It’s not about arresting momentum and scoring five goals in five minutes,” Dangerfield said.
“We know how long the game takes, and we have experience in the right spots. Our guys don’t panic. They know the process. It’s about getting the next one, stalling momentum and then getting the next one. We feel like we can score fast.”
The 35-year-old has 11 goals so far in 2025 – already his highest tally for a season since 2020 – and is in the sort of form that has him sitting among the game’s best and most influential players again.
“I feel like I am moving well and I am lucky enough that I can play to my strengths,” Dangerfield said.
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