(19th Eagles player)
Former Docker and Bulldog defender Belinda Smith was signed ahead of the Eagles' entry into the AFLW competition.
Fremantle and Western Bulldogs career[]
Originally from Pingrup in the Great Southern region, Smith was drafted by Fremantle 100th overall in the inaugural 2016 AFLW draft. She played 13 games in two seasons with Fremantle but was delisted at the end of the 2018 season. Smith signed with the Western Bulldogs as a free agent and played three games for the Dogs in 2019.[1]
West Coast career[]
Smith was signed by West Coast in April 2019 during the AFLW's exchange period, and was a member of the inaugural Eagles side that faced Collingwood. A fixture in defence in her first season as an Eagle, she finished in the top ten of the Club Champion medal. Smith had more solid seasons in 2021 and 2022 (twice), also playing every game, bringing up her 50th AFLW appearance in the final week of 2022. She turned in a career-best season in 2023, excelling in defence and finishing in the top three of the best and fairest, as well as winning the player-voted Trademark award.
Smith became the first Eagle to the 50-game mark midway through the 2024 season, but her consecutive games streak came to an end when she was omitted for the penultimate game of the year against Geelong (although a cork suffered the previous week may have played a part in the decision). Her disposal numbers fell as she was moved further up the ground than in past years.
Stats[]
| Gm | G | B | K | M | H | D | Cl | T | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 10 | 23 | 66 | 5 | 17 | |
| 2021 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 62 | 22 | 55 | 117 | 2 | 21 | |
| 2022 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 78 | 37 | 34 | 112 | 1 | 18 | |
| 2022B (S7) | 10 | 0 | 1 | 73 | 37 | 32 | 105 | 4 | 22 | |
| 2023 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 85 | 40 | 70 | 155 | 1 | 26 | |
| 2024 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 48 | 19 | 26 | 74 | 4 | 34 | |
| Tot | 55 | 2 | 1 | 389 | 165 | 240 | 629 | 17 | 138 | |
| Avg | 0.0 | 7.1 | 3.0 | 4.4 | 11.4 | 0.3 | 2.5 |
References[]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belinda_Smith
https://australianfootball.com/players/playerseason/belinda%2Bsmith/19925
- ↑ Rhys Dickinson, westcoasteagles.com.au (16 April 2019), "AFLW: West Coast signs triple threat": https://www.westcoasteagles.com.au/news/2019-04-16/west-coast-signs-triple-threat
| Current AFLW playing squad |
|---|
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1.L.Wakfer, 2.Gibson, 3.Thomas, 4.Roberts, 5.Rowley, 6.Lewis, 7.Rentsch, 8.Painter, 9.Roux |
| Inaugural West Coast Eagles AFLW Team AFLW Round 1 2020 - Collingwood 5.8.38 def West Coast 1.5.11 |
|---|
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B: Belinda Smith, Talia Radan |