Western Bulldogs young gun Bailey Smith needs to be “saved” from his obsessive attitude to football, says Matthew Lloyd.
The Essendon legend expressed his fears for the 22-year-old after a video emerged of him running 200-metre efforts following Saturday’s win against Fremantle.
Despite the Bulldogs’ 29-point victory at Marvel Stadium, Smith turned in another poor game, mustering only 16 disposals, five contested possessions, four inside 50s and one clearance.
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He’s developed into one of the game’s premier midfielders since arriving at the Bulldogs via pick seven in the 2018 AFL draft, but has taken a dip in a host of key statistical areas this season.
The video of Smith punching out 200-metre efforts after Saturday’s game prompted Lloyd to express his worries for the midfielder-forward on Nine’s Footy Classified.
“I didn’t like it … I think you’ve got to save some players from themselves. I’ve played with teammates who have been fantastic footballers and they’ve started weighing their foods, doing all sorts of things that they never did, overtraining and mentally just getting worse by doing more,” Lloyd said.
“I’d say to Bailey, ‘You’ve just played a game of football’. They may have another reason for it. ‘You’ve just played a game of football, you don’t need to go and do that’.”
Port Adelaide great Kane Cornes had a similar work ethic in his playing days — one that crept into obsessive areas.
Cornes admitted he was a “nut case” and said he’d go about his footy differently if he had his time again.
“Just to Lloydo’s point, I think he’s probably right, but in that moment as a 22-year-old you go, ‘No, get stuffed, I’m going to get out there, I’m going to get fit, I’m not happy with how I performed’,” Cornes said on Footy Classified.
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“But who is that at the Dogs that’s willing to have that conversation with him?
“I just think he needs to be really well supported.”
There isn’t a player in the AFL who attracts more public attention than Smith.
“Bazlenka” has 340,000 Instagram followers, and while that’s eclipsed by Lance Franklin’s 348,000, Smith lives in the AFL fishbowl that is Melbourne.
He’s spoken openly about his battles with fame and anxiety.
In June last year, he received a two-match ban after a video surfaced of him holding a bag of white powder during the off-season.
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“He’s the most famous player in the game, he’s had issues off the field, even in the pre-season he was concerned about photographers taking his picture and things like that,” Cornes said.
“So I just think he needs to be really well supported at the footy club, and they need to get him back to his devastating best.
“Is that wing, is it high half-forward, is it inside?
“But more so I’m focused on off the field and whether he’s getting enough support.”
Smith is contracted to the Bulldogs until the end of 2024.
The Bulldogs will square off with Collingwood at Marvel Stadium on Friday night.
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