BAILEY Smith has opened up on his mental state, both now and compared to a tumultuous 2025 season with Geelong.<\/p>\n
The 25-year-old midfield star, who is in his second season with the Cats, found himself in hot water with the AFL on several occasions last year for questionable on-field behaviour.<\/p>\n
So far in 2026, the man they call \u2018Bazlenka\u2019 has enjoyed an incident-free campaign with his footy doing all the talking.<\/p>\n
In a wide-ranging interview with Tom Morris with thanks to Telstra on Channel 7\u2019s Agenda Setters, Smith spoke of his mindset now as opposed to last year.<\/p>\n
He admits he often used anger in a bid to prove himself again having crossed from the Western Bulldogs after missing 2024 with a knee injury.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I have (matured),\u201d Smith told Morris.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a lot less emotional. I think last year the whole year was a chip on my shoulder.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to return well and show that I still loved the game and wanted to be one of the best. I think a lot of that came out of anger, weirdly, after the year I had.<\/p>\n
\u201cI probably wasn\u2019t in a good place, and the year before that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The reigning AFLCA Champion Player (alongside Noah Anderson) and 2025 All-Australian has been doing a lot of work on himself to ensure he can balance his emotions with his on-field exploits.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, I\u2019ve been working really hard on metacognitive awareness,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe notion that you\u2019re not your thoughts; you\u2019re purely an observer of them.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnderstanding that how I think doesn\u2019t need to be how I feel and just learning to be more aware and curious of why I\u2019m thinking or why I\u2019m feeling some way each day, rather than acting on it. Making permanent decisions based on temporary emotions.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m working with my psych on not being so reactive. I\u2019ll still be emotional, I\u2019m not emotionally numb, but just learning to be aware of the tricks your brain tries to play on you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Smith, in his own words, was last year busy \u201creintegrating\u201d back into the footy landscape as well as with both the media and on social media. He admits at times he battled.<\/p>\n
\u201cI kind of had a year off it when I did my knee. Last year I didn\u2019t handle it too well,\u201d he said further.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t really want to let my emotions get the better of me again with a lot of the way I acted at times.\u201d<\/p>\n
During his six seasons with the Bulldogs, Smith emerged as one of the most promising young midfielders in the game.<\/p>\n
It didn\u2019t go to plan in the end, and while he admits he wasn\u2019t the best teammate, he wouldn\u2019t change how it all panned out.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was still grappling with a few things of my own. I don\u2019t know, it\u2019s always an excuse,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut yeah, I probably could have been a better teammate, a few things could have gone differently.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut ultimately I wouldn\u2019t change a thing because everything happens (for a reason) and leads you on a path that you find yourself grateful to be on.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m grateful for my time there, they ought me a lot of things from a football perspective, \u2018Bont\u2019 (Marcus Bontempelli) especially.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the end of the day it\u2019s a business. They\u2019ll happily delist someone so who am I not to leave, and if I\u2019m going to take my career into my own hands and not wonder \u2018what if\u2019, and if I thought Geelong was the best place for me, I\u2019d be pretty stupid not to take that opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Andrew Slevison\/SEN<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BAILEY Smith has opened up on his mental state, both now and compared to a tumultuous 2025 season with Geelong. The 25-year-old midfield star, who is in his second season with the Cats, found himself in hot water with the AFL on several occasions last year for questionable on-field behaviour. So far in 2026, the […]<\/p>\n