In a week when a spotlight has burned on the mental health of AFL players, it has become abundantly clear Geelong superstar Bailey Smith puts his money where his mouth is.
Smith has been public about his own mental demons over the years and, in a raw post-match interview on Channel 7 last week, he pushed for a league-wide mental health round while reaching out to Carlton’s Elijah Hollands and Adelaide’s Jordan Dawson (who tragically lost his brother).
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Tom Green on Channel 7’s The Agenda Setters
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That interview has gone viral with more than 4 million views online.
But if anyone doubts the sincerity of the 25-year-old Smith — who, with more than 400,000 Instagram followers is the most marketable player in the game — they need to think again.
As Giants gun midfielder Tom Green has revealed on Channel 7’s The Agenda Setters, Smith is very active behind the scenes as well.
In a shattering incident in February this year, Green suffered a brutal ACL injury during an intra-club match.
In an instant, the Giants’ future captain had his entire season cruelly taken away from him (although he still remains hopeful of playing at some point).
Season-ending injuries are obviously heartbreaking for players, particularly so close to the start of a new year.
And as the grind of rehab goes on and on, and all the boredom that comes with that, it takes a mental toll on the players as they are relegated to helpless onlookers.
Smith has been through it and missed the whole of the 2024 season.
And Green revealed that Smith got in touch with him not long after his ACL injury was confirmed.
“The one that stands out for me in that space (of player support), and he’s already been discussed tonight, but it’s Bailey Smith,” Green said on Channel 7’s The Agenda Setters on Wednesday night.
“He was another one who reached out to me (about my knee). He’s obviously been through it, and we’ve come back and seen what he did last year and how he started this year, he’s been absolutely incredible.
“So he was one who offered his support, which I’ll be forever grateful to him for … and (he also shared) a little bit of how his rehab went.”
Green conceded it had been “a little bit of a tough period” but he had been coping “OK … touch wood”.
“I think there’ll come a period in the year when it does get long, and watching on for such a long period of time does take its toll,” he said.
“But, yeah, there’s other ways that you can fill your time, and you’ve got to try and find the silver linings where you can.”
He also said he had followed Smith’s lead when it was confirmed this week that rising superstar Sam Darcy’s season was over due to his own ACL injury.
“I’ve also reached out to Sam,” he said.
“I had a lot of other players who have gone through that injury and others who were just offering some support to me, and I was really appreciative for that. And I did reach out to Sam. I’ve met him before, and he’s a lovely guy.
“He’s obviously a superstar as well. I did reach out and just said, if there’s anything I can do to help, I’m here.”
AFL great Nick Riewoldt said we hate seeing anyone go down with an injury, but “when you read a gun player has gone down in the pre-season, it takes the wind out of all of us”.
