Bailey Smith has declined an invite to attend the Western Bulldogs’ awards night on Wednesday as he finally confirmed Geelong as his preferred destination.
The 23-year-old will make the move to the Cats in the AFL trade period but faces a nervous wait while the two clubs thrash out a deal.
Smith did not play a game this season after suffering an ACL injury in the pre-season, and the Bulldogs’ hopes of re-signing the midfielder faded through the year.
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He has now decided against a formal farewell but teammate Adam Treloar said it was not a disappointing outcome.
“No, there’s always going to be memories. The one that sticks out the most is probably the 2021 campaign,” Treloar told 7NEWS.0
“We’ll have our goodbyes, he’s obviously out of contract and gets to choose what he wants to do. Whatever he does we wish him all the best.”
Premiership midfielder Jack Macrae, who has requested a trade to St Kilda, is in attendance on Wednesday.
He played 19 games after a challenging start to the year and will depart despite being under contract until 2027.
But it appears some relationships were frayed in Smith’s months-long contract saga.
The sight of Smith sitting with Cotton On figures and among sidelined Cats players at Geelong’s preliminary final against Brisbane last month did not sit well with the Bulldogs.
Smith has a high-profile partnership with the brand, which also happens to be one of the Cats’ major sponsors.
More to come…
