Bulldogs star Bailey Smith requests trade with one club in 'box seat'
Updated . First published at
Although he is yet to nominate a club, Western Bulldogs midfielder Bailey Smith has officially requested a trade out of the Whitten Oval.
The 23-year-old, who didn't play a game for the Dogs this year, may not have nominated a new home, but is said to have a club in mind.
Smith tore his ACL in the pre season, ruling him out of the 2024 season, which is his last year under contract.
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He was sent away on a trip to Europe earlier in the year, and returned to the club mid season, where discussions between Geelong and Hawthorn reportedly began.
Just last week, Smith was spotted completing a full training session with the Bulldogs, nine months on from his ACL rupture.
Bailey Smith and Luke Beveridge during the 2023 pre season. Getty
Dogs coach Luke Beveridge shut down any suggestions that Smith would enter the selection conversation for their eliminatin final against Hawthorn, which they went on to lose by 37 points on Friday night.
Exit interviews at the Whitten Oval began on Monday, with Smith quick to make the reports official.
According to SEN's Sam Edmund, Geelong loom as the likely destination for Smith.
"It's been Geelong in the box seat for the better part of 18 months," Edmund said on SEN Radio on Monday.
Bailey Smith has been heavily linked to Geelong. Getty
And while the Hawks are still in the background, they seem to have other trade priorities that trump Smith.
"I see no reason that that has shifted. We know that Hawthorn have got other priorities in terms of (Tom) Barrass (West Coast), (Josh) Battle (St Kilda) and the like," he said.
But it's not a money move for the 23-year-old, who reportedly won't be breaking Geelong's salary cap, or even come close.
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"There's a bit of lifestyle in there, there's a bit of football programming in there as well," Edmund.
Smith was taken with pick seven in the 2018 draft.
The AFL trade period begins on Monday, October 9.
