Bailey Smith opens up about real reason behind decision to leave Western Bulldogs

AFL star Bailey Smith has broken his silence on his recent trade request and the reasons he wanted away from the Western Bulldogs.

The 23-year-old footballer officially told the Western Bulldogs club in early September that he wanted to be traded, with the likes of Geelong, Hawthorn and Collingwood said to be interested in securing his services next season.

Smith, who played a key role in the Bulldogs’ run to the 2021 grand final, was forced to sit out the entire 2024 season after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in training in December.

Now the midfielder has revealed why he wants to leave.

“I still love the club, people forget that,” Smith said at the EJ Whitten Grand Final Legends Lunch.

“But there’s a level where you outgrow a place, or you just need a new change, for whatever reason. I still love them, they’re still my friends. I won’t go into it too deeply.

“I feel like I’m doing myself a disservice to the player I want to become and the person I want to become by staying in the same environment, but we’ll see.”

There are rumors that Bailey will end up at Geelong, but the youngster’s manager said things are still up in the air.

Smith (pictured) has gone all out in Sydney after recently asking the Western Bulldogs for a trade.

“I could kind of hate all the headlines I’ve had, all the not-so-good things I’ve done, or the pressure that comes with the way you have to look, all that kind of stuff, but I It also taught me to appreciate less superficial things,” Bailey said.

“The whole AFL player imagines and just learns to love the game. I just go for a kick during the week and just learn to love footy at its best. I’m kicking football with my dad and trying to fall in love with the game again, because I fell out of love with it for a while.

“And it takes an injury to really, really love it and miss it again, because it can get clouded by everything that’s happening.

‘I probably struggled with it (attention) because first and foremost I love football and want to be known for that.

Smith officially told the Western Bulldogs club he wants to be traded in early September

“And people see all the s*** I put on Instagram and all that stuff, that’s the only thing that wakes me up in the morning and makes me tick, is the match itself and the training.

‘That’s my mission in the next ten to twelve years: to really leave my legacy… that goes a bit too deep… but to be more football-oriented than all the stuff that has been put forward so far has been brought.’

Smith has played 103 AFL games since being drafted by the Bulldogs in 2018.