What to do with Bailey Smith?

WHERE is Bailey Smith best suited as a player? Is it on the wing, down forward or in the guts as a pure midfielder?

That is a question Luke Beveridge and his coaching group would be pondering as their young star battles through a significant drop off in form.

Smith has been fighting form throughout the year and he did so again last Friday night against Collingwood.

Smith finished the game with just the 12 touches, one mark, three tackles and no score involvements. He also struggled by foot, going at 36 per cent with his disposal efficiency.

His last three games have seen a return of 19, 16 and 12 disposals.

Given the Dogs have a plethora of midfielders in their side, Beveridge has been using Smith as a high half forward in recent weeks.

Hawthorn great Luke Hodge said the Bulldogs should be maximising Smith’s incredible running ability by playing him on the wing.

“His first few years have been really good, he used his run and creativity and he did that on the wing,” Hodge said on SEN’s Crunch Time.

“Once you’ve been in the AFL system for three, four and five years, and you excel in a certain position, it’s about how we can take that player to the next step.

“For the Bulldogs, they’re playing him more of a half forward to try and lose a defender and bring him up to the contest.

“If I was a coach at the Bulldogs, to try and get him some confidence back, I would be putting him on the wing and keep him on the wing for a full game and making sure he gets that confidence back that he once had.

“The last time the Bulldogs played Collingwood, he had 41 touches playing on the wing and around the ball, not playing him as a high half forward.

“The high half forward is the hardest position to play because you’re trying to create space to get out of the forward line, you’ve also got to work back in but you’ve also got a half back flanker trying to shut you down.

“I’d be making it a little bit easier on the kid and say ‘use your running ability’.”

Hodge said that by playing the 22-year-old on the wing, the Dogs would see his disposal efficiency improve as he gets a lot more time and space on the wings as opposed to the forward line.

“The other thing is about his kicking efficiency, you’re always under pressure on the half forward with midfielders squeezing back and putting pressure on your kick and you’ve got a little small area to work into,” he said.

“On the wing, you can work back into your defensive 50, work up the fat side, there’s more space for a winger to hit a kick if his kicks a little bit suspect as we’re starting to see in that position at the moment.”

From his 14 games in 2023, Smith is averaging 24 disposals at 66 per cent efficiency.

– HUGH FITZPATRICK/ SEN