From the ugly (Fremantle’s performance against St Kilda, and Port’s against the Bulldogs) to the sublime (Collingwood’s election night clash with the Cats), round eight had the works. Here are the key takeouts from across the round.
Smith’s last laugh
Saturday night, MCG
Geelong defeated Collingwood by three points
Bailey Smith is very pleased with himself right now.
After a year out of footy recovering from an ACL rupture and some unwanted off-field headlines at the Bulldogs before that, Smith’s fresh start at Geelong has effectively brought back his brilliant 2021-22 self.
Bailey Smith is enjoying a renaissance in his second AFL start as a Cat.Credit: AFL Photos
The 24-year-old midfielder has shone in every game this season, including amassing 34 disposals and one goal in the Cats’ nail-biting win over Collingwood on Saturday night.
Smith would almost certainly be leading Geelong’s best-and-fairest award.
There was once a debate about whether Smith or his draft peer, Carlton’s Sam Walsh, was a better player – and that is a genuine conversation again. Walsh has more runs on the board, but Smith is All-Australian-bound and clearly the better player this year.
Smith has a major platform as one of the game’s most marketable and popular players – his 361,000 followers leads all AFL players – but needs to decide how he wants to be perceived beyond his performance.
Asked by ex-Cat Cameron Mooney on Saturday night about playing in front of 82,000 fans, Smith delivered a broadside at his former club, which beat Port Adelaide in front of fewer than 5000 fans in Ballarat.
“It’s beautiful, mate – [I’m] not getting that at Ballarat,” Smith told Fox Footy.
This is Smith’s third venture into the headlines this year for an action not involving kicking a football.
The first was somewhat admirable, even if it was a tad silly, when he flipped the bird at an Adelaide fan getting stuck into his captain Patrick Dangerfield.
The other was on Easter Monday, when Smith decided it was a good idea – after a routine bump between the two as they crossed the boundary line – to bang the Sherrin into Hawk Jarman Impey’s face with a swinging arm, which cost him a free kick and later a fine.
Geelong skipper Patrick Dangerfield disappears down the race at Adelaide Oval with teammate Bailey Smith, who seconds earlier went head-to-head with a Crows fan.Credit: AFL Photos
Smith offered another middle-finger salute to the Hawthorn faithful in the same game. Geelong coach Chris Scott dismissed suggestions after the Easter Monday contest that he might need to rein Smith in.
“Touching a footy on someone’s face – I hope he’s OK – but I think it’s so minor, I wouldn’t worry about it too much,” Scott said.
Bailey Smith suggests his former captain took the bait.Credit: Instagram
“We don’t condone it, but we’re much more interested in a pattern [of behaviour] … I don’t buy into [fan interactions] too much, but my suggestion is that the crowd loved it, the AFL loved it, and I reckon Bailey loves it as well. If the suggestion is that we should try to make him boring and vanilla, then we’ll rail against that.”
Is Smith’s behaviour a pattern yet? As we know, players always have a longer leash when they are performing at a high level.
Bulldogs skipper Marcus Bontempelli gently bit back at Smith’s Ballarat comment with a “flipping the bird” reference, only for his ex-teammate to jump straight on Instagram to post three fishing rods while tagging The Salty Dog Cafe.
None of this is a hanging offence, and we love players with personality, but Smith is straddling the line between entertainment and just being juvenile.
Is history repeating?
Friday night, Marvel Stadium
St Kilda defeated Fremantle by 61 points
Justin Longmuir might want to look away.
Longmuir’s Dockers kicked one goal in the first half against St Kilda at Marvel Stadium on Friday night, on their way to a 61-point defeat in a 94-33 scoreline.
Barely 10 months ago – in a separate battle between the west and east – Hawthorn pasted West Coast by the same 94-33 scoreline in a round 16 clash in Perth.
Adam Simpson coached just one more game before he and the Eagles “mutually agreed” to part ways. The heat is now on Longmuir, who could not guide Fremantle to the finals in the past two seasons. The Dockers sit ninth with a 4-4 win-loss record this year after the Saints loss.
Justin Longmuir and an inconsistent Fremantle are under the pump.Credit: AFL Photos
“The first thing I look at after a performance like that, and any good leader should, is, ‘What did I get wrong?’,” Longmuir said post-match.
“I’m not sitting here blaming the players. I’ve got to look at my own performance this week, and, ‘Am I contributing to us being an inconsistent team?’. So, of course, I’m going to question myself. You can’t just sit here and say it’s all on the players.”
Goldy looking oldy
Thursday night, Marvel Stadium
Essendon defeated North Melbourne by three points
Ruckmen are enjoying a renaissance in 2025.
Carlton’s Tom De Koning has been mostly magnificent – although he was not at his best in a big loss to the Crows in Adelaide on Saturday – while Melbourne great Max Gawn’s past three performances are unmatched and put him back in the All-Australian mix.
North Melbourne’s Tristan Xerri, Magpie Darcy Cameron and Hawthorn’s Lloyd Meek are also enjoying strong campaigns, while Dockers Luke Jackson and Sean Darcy are arguably the best ruck one-two punch in the AFL.
Western Bulldog and 2023 All-Australian Tim English, St Kilda’s Rowan Marshall, Swan Brodie Grundy, Gold Coast co-captain Jarrod Witts, Brisbane’s Oscar McInerney and Tigers skipper Toby Nankervis are also more than capable of a match-winning turn.
That brings us to Essendon and Adelaide, who both have decisions to make about their ruck stocks.
Reilly O’Brien is more solid citizen than world-beater, but rarely lets the Crows down and was the first ruckman this season to lower De Koning’s colours, or at least dull his influence.
Sam Draper is out for the rest of the season with an Achilles rupture.Credit: Fox Footy
O’Brien is an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, but Adelaide are sniffing around Bomber Sam Draper, who is also an unrestricted free agent. Draper won’t play again until 2026 after suffering an Achilles rupture last month.
Essendon’s No.2 big man, Nick Bryan, also needs to sign a new deal in the months ahead, but an ACL rupture also ended his season, meaning Todd Goldstein, who turns 37 in July, is suddenly carrying the load.
The evidence on Thursday night against Xerri and the Roos is that Goldstein and the Bombers are going to have a brutal time against the best ruckmen. Xerri dominated and almost single-handedly dragged North to an upset win from 26 points down.
Both matches should have given Adelaide and Essendon food for thought.
The Crows maybe need to appreciate O’Brien a bit more, while the temptation for the Bombers to let Draper walk and potentially snaffle another first-round draft pick as compensation might not be worth the downside.
Belated rewards
Saturday afternoon, Adelaide Oval
Adelaide defeated Carlton by 60 points
Jobs were on the line in Adelaide’s recruiting and list management team at the end of last season, and change was likely if the Crows failed again to play finals this year.
Chief among the criticism – beyond the club not playing a final since the 2017 grand final – was a string of first-round draft choices who didn’t work out, from Fischer McAsey to Ned McHenry and Jordan Gallucci. Fellow first-rounders Chayce Jones, Luke Pedlar and Brayden Cook are also stuck in the SANFL.
Max Michalanney (right) and the Crows are on the rise.Credit: AFL Photos
But the wheel is turning for Adelaide.
They have not only recruited the likes of Jordan Dawson, Izak Rankine, Ben Keays, Alex Neal-Bullen, Isaac Cumming and James Peatling, but their draftees are playing a pivotal role in their 5-3 start.
Defenders Josh Worrell and Max Michalanney were outstanding in Saturday’s win over Carlton, while Riley Thilthorpe, Josh Rachele, Jake Soligo, Darcy Fogarty and Wayne Milera are all key contributors. They have also cobbled together a no-frills backline off the scrapheap with Mark Keane, Nick Murray and Jordon Butts.
The Crows’ last two top-10 selections, Daniel Curtin – who they traded up for – and Sid Draper, have also played eight and seven senior games, respectively, this year and shown encouraging signs.
Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter.
