'Never say never': Banned Demon Joel Smith hopeful he will get 'another crack' at AFL

Banned ex-Demons player Joel Smith is hopeful he will be given a second chance to compete in the AFL after he finishes serving his drug-related ban.

Smith was whacked with a four-year ban in the October 2024 after he was found to have violated multiple anti-doping guidelines relating to cocaine use and trafficking.

The defender is not able to train with any AFL club until November 2027 and can not be fielded in any anti-doping compliant competitions until January 9, 2028.

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Smith's ban prohibits him from competing in any social sports teams, but such limitations have not dampened his ambitions to return to the sporting sphere.

"I'm going to go back to play footy," he said on The Watch podcast.

"If I get another crack, AFL, or whatever it is playing local. But I'll definitely go back into playing footy of some sort."

Smith recognised his chances at a return to the AFL would be slim, considering he will by then be 31-years-old.

But he insists he still has at least another four seasons in him if he were to be given a lifeline.

"I haven't really properly looked at [how to return to the AFL], I haven't really spoken to anyone," said Smith.

"When it gets closer, that's when I'll start asking the questions about it all.

"If I can come and potentially give a team something that are chasing a flag, like that'd be great.

"Never say never. If it does happen, it'd be great, but there's always local footy as well."

Smith admitted he knew his career was in trouble when he received a callup from club officials to have a private meeting following a match.

"It was a bit of a deflating feeling because I'm like of f---, I think I'm in trouble here," he continued.

"When you get the call from the club saying, 'You need to come in, something's come up'. and then I went in and they handed me with the game-day test thing, it was a shocking feeling.

"The first three months was horrible but I thought I was going to be back playing in three months, which is the thing that sucks.

"It was horrible. I was going to fight it (but) then I obviously got hit with some more charges, unfortunately."

The former player conceded that he knew he had taken the banned substance prior to the match but did not do so on game day.

"I did it close to a game, but I definitely didn't do it the day of the game," Smith said.

"That's the thing that sucks, that they just didn't really see through that. If you don't do it day of the game it is three month (ban).

"I just had to just sort of come to an agreement with it all... the process you have got to go through, it took a toll on me.

"But I took a lot of great learnings from this, yes, I made a mistake, but people make mistakes, you grow, and you learn."