‘King of bloody Geelong’: How Bailey Smith is bucking Cats tradition as blockbuster ‘spotfires’ loom

Geelong has produced its fair share of superstars, legends and Hall of Famers during its modern-day era of consistent premiership contention.

But there’s never been a Cat like Bailey Smith.

And arguably no Geelong player has made such an immediate on and off-field impact like Smith has since walking through doors at GMHBA Stadium.

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“Mate I tell you right now, he’s the king of bloody Geelong,” triple premiership forward Cameron Mooney said of Smith to foxfooty.com.au this week.

Smith on Thursday night will be central to arguably the biggest game of the AFL season so far when his Cats host the Western Bulldogs. It’ll be Smith’s first outing against his ex-Dogs teammates since asking for that blockbuster trade last year.

Remarkably, anticipation for the match ramped up three weeks ago, with Smith lighting the fuse moments after Geelong’s thrilling win over Collingwood. Asked by Mooney on Fox Footy how good it was to be playing in front of 82,000 fans at the MCG, Smith cheekily replied with a sly grin: “Beautiful mate. Not getting that at Ballarat.”

Shots fired.

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Mooney, naturally, loved it.

“I was initially thinking ‘well, this isn’t the most interesting interview’ – and then all of a sudden, he went bang!” Mooney recalled.

“But I think it got blown up a bit. There was no malice involved in it, it got the Bont (Bulldogs skipper Marcus Bontempelli) talking the next day with some tongue-in-cheek.

“I thought it was fantastic theatre from both sides.”

Collingwood vs Geelong at the MCG. Bailey Smith of the Cats after the win. Picture: Michael Klein Source: News Corp Australia

‘KEEPS YOU ON YOUR TOES’: BAILEY A CAT LIKE NO OTHER

It was a glimpse into the Smith brand that has been warmly embraced over recent months by Geelong – despite the star midfielder’s natural theatrics being somewhat jarring for those who’ve experienced or witnessed the culture the Cats have established this century.

That’s not to say Geelong players have never been encouraged to be themselves. In fact, they would be pulled up by club officials if they were ever acting like anyone but themselves.

But no Cats player previously ever attracted Smith-like publicity and social media views in such Smith-like style.

“He keeps you on your toes, Bailey,” Cats coach Chris Scott said just before the start of the season.

“I didn’t know much about him before I met him, but you get to know him pretty quickly.

“Like he’s intense, he’s a big personality.”

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There were characters galore in the dynasty Geelong team of the mid-2000s to early-2010s. The likes of Matthew Scarlett, Paul Chapman, Jimmy Bartel, Cameron Ling and Joel Selwood were ruthless competitors, while Corey Enright and James Kelly were cheeky but in their own unassuming way.

Cats fans then fell in love with a new breed of witty, knockabout personalities of Harry Taylor, Zach Tuohy, Jeremy Cameron and Isaac Smith, while admiring the professionalism of the likes of Patrick Dangerfield, Tom Atkins, Tom Stewart, Gryan Miers and the Guthrie’s.

Perhaps the closest Cat to Smith personality-wise has been triple premiership and triple All-Australian star Steve Johnson – a Wangaratta product who talked the talk then walked the walk under the ‘Stevie J’ brand.

But even Johnson, as confident and self-assured as he was, probably never commanded the same off-field presence as Smith does now.

Bailey Smith of the Cats with fans during the 2025 AFL Round 06 match between the Geelong Cats and the Hawthorn Hawks at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on April 21, 2025 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by James Wiltshire/AFL Photos via Getty Images) Source: Getty Images

Mooney said during his time in the Geelong dynasty, the playing group established a media mantra to avoid fanning flames and let your footy do the talking.

“But as you know now, that’s just not how it works,” Mooney said.

“When I was playing back in the day, we kind of made a conscious effort not to be that kind of big character in the media. We always had a saying: ‘Don’t make your teammates answer for something you say.’ That was always something that we lived on.

“But I actually love what he (Smith) is doing. I love what he’s brought to the team.

“On-field, they were desperate for some speed and just another person in the midfield who could get 25 possessions a week – and he’s done that.

“And what happens off the field? I don’t mind it – because that’s the era that we live in, that’s the world that we live in.

“If it means someone’s a little bit left of centre and can have some fun, you know what? I’m all for it.”

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HOW CATS HAVE ‘EMBRACED’ SMITH

One list management source suggested to foxfooty.com.au that even trading in inner city-raised Smith can be seen as a Geelong philosophy pivot .

The Cats, traditionally, have leant towards drafting and trading in country talent – most notably players from the Geelong Falcons program.

But when Smith joined Geelong in October, he became just the third Sandringham Dragons product since 2009 to join the Cats. In the same 15-year period, only one player from the Oakleigh Chargers was taken.

Bailey Smith’s mere training presence draws more attention than other Cats. Picture: Alison Wynd Source: News Corp Australia

“We get that he’s high profile, and I wouldn’t necessarily coach anyone to behave exactly the way Bailey does, but he is what he is, and our job is to shape him,” Scott said last month.

“We knew he was going to come in and be a bit different to players that we’ve had in our system before, but we made a commitment to embrace it and help.

“If the suggestion is we should try and make him boring and vanilla then we will rally against it.”

Scott’s comments came after Smith turned pantomime villain in Geelong’s win over Hawthorn in April.

Smith quickly became unpopular with Hawks fans after a bizarre interaction with Jarman Impey where he pushed the ball into the face of his Hawthorn opponent, prompting boos from the crowd.

Minutes later, he flipped the bird at fans as he came to the bench – a week after he produced the same gesture to a supporter who sledged Dangerfield post-match in Adelaide.

On-field antics like those could be seen as “un-Geelong like”, as one source put to foxfooty.com.au.

Yet amid the Easter Monday palaver, Smith was still breathtakingly prolific and influential in the win over Hawthorn, finishing with 28 disposals as he broke lines with his run and carry.

Bailey Smith of the Cats embraces his mother ahead of the round nine AFL match between Geelong Cats and GWS Giants at GMHBA Stadium on May 11, 2025 in Geelong, Australia. (Photo by Graham Denholm/AFL Photos/Getty Images) Source: Getty Images

A BIG TRADE ‘WIN’ ALREADY

Smith, who moved to the Cats after 113 games at the Western Bulldogs, has been a revelation for Geelong so far this season, sitting second in Brownlow Medal betting behind Collingwood superstar Nick Daicos while he’s an early All-Australian lock.

He’s averaging career-high disposals (30.7), contested possessions (10.4), score involvements (7.2), clearances (5.8), marks (5.3), tackles (5.0) and metres gained (662).

“If you are going to be out there, though, you have to perform straight away – and his ability to perform from the moment he stepped foot into the footy club … From a Geelong point of view, it has been an absolute knock-out-of-the-park win,” Mooney said.

“He also works his butt off – and when you show everyone that you’re a bloody hard worker on the track and you can back it up on the field, people aren’t too fussed about the off-field stuff, as long as you’re respectful.

“I don’t think he’s overstepped the mark anywhere along the line so far and I think the club’s handled it well.”

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That combination of exhilarating form and mega personality has quickly seen Smith become a hit with Cats fans, particularly kids. As Mooney bluntly put it, he’s “the king of bloody Geelong”.

Asked if he was surprised by Smith’s high output so early into his Cats stint, Mooney said: “Yeah because I think we all forgot about the player he was.

“I probably always had in my mind he was just an outside winger, but to see how he wins the hardball and then his gut-running, when you see him live, is as good as anyone’s in the competition – I am pleasantly surprised just how well he’s jumped in.”

Chris Scott, Senior Coach of the Cats and Bailey Smith of the Cats chat during the Geelong Cats training session at GMHBA Stadium on May 15, 2025 in Geelong, Australia. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images) Source: Getty Images

‘SPOTFIRES’ EXPECTED... AND SLEDGES?

But how will Smith on Thursday night cope with the hype and potential close attention from Bulldogs players that were reportedly filthy with how he departed last year?

The morning after Smith’s Ballarat-themed swipe for the Western Bulldogs, skipper Marcus Bontempelli returned serve, telling Channel 7 it was “nice to know we’re still on Bailey’s mind” and that “there’s probably a few less people in Ballarat for him to flip the bird to”.

And while Tom Liberatore refused to fuel the fire in an interview with Fox Footy after the Bulldogs’ 91-point win over Essendon on Saturday, his punchy, dismissive answers to Smith-related questions suggested no love has been lost.

Dogs coach Luke Beveridge on Wednesday insisted Smith’s comments would “not come into discussions with our preparation” and that his players traditionally “don’t go out of our way to antagonise and get underneath anyone’s skin unnecessarily”.

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Still, Mooney is expecting “spotfires during the night”.

“As long as it doesn’t go overboard and the boys aren’t getting suspended, a bit of verbal – that’s great. It’s what we want. I’ve got no problem with that,” Mooney said,

“There would be a bit of bad blood there. He left the club and no one really likes it when a player leaves the club – and particularly when they’re doing really well at their new club.”

As risky and counter-cultural as the move was at the time, Smith already seems like a big trade tick for Geelong.

He’ll be keen on pulling off another telling performance on Thursday night. And should the Cats win, grab another box of popcorn for the post-match interview.

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