Clay SMITH

2017 Digest:   Enjoyed an incident-free summer, a refreshing change for a player who’s had his share of bad luck. Gotta love his hardness!

2017 NAB Cup:  

2017 Season

1		–
2		–
3		Senior emergency.
4	NM	Hardly sighted in terms of disposal but laid 15 tackles including one on MacMillan that set up Stringer goal.	5
5	Bris	Buzzed about up forward to be a nuisance for the Lions. Three tackles, two goal assists and 14 disposals.	6
6	GWS	Really quiet in forward pressure role. Didn’t hit scoreboard and only had one inside-50 to go with two tackles.	2
7	Rich	Part of Dogs revival in second term. Good opportunist around goals with four.	7
8	WCE	Didn’t get the ball as much as he’d have liked but laid five tackles.	4
9	Geel	Two goals from eight kicks playing role up forward. Laid seven tackles but by no means a big impact on flow of game.	5
10		Calf.
11		Calf.
12		Calf.
13	VFL	Very good with 20 possessions, two goals and eight tackles. He'll be back in seniors soon.	–
14	VFL	In everything at stages to end with 23 touches. Competed hard from start to finish.	–
15	VFL	A tackling machine – laid 16. Got his fair share of footy as well. Not the worst.	–
16	Adel	Missed his only shot on goal but did have two scoring assists, apart from that was missing for most of the game.	3
17	VFL	Played through the midfield and was the leading ball winner for the Dogs with 32 disposals and had 10 tackles.	–
18	VFL	Want to see more out of AFL level player. Eight tackles a plus.	–
19		Suspended.
20	Bris	Only major bright spot was a last quarter goal to take back the lead early in final term.	4
21	VFL	Bye.	–
22	VFL	Industrious in midfield with 25 possessions and a handful of assists.	–
23	VFL	Industrious performer with 17 possessions and had a hand in a few goals.	–

2016 Season

1		Knee.
2		Knee.
3		Knee.
4		Knee.
5		Knee.
6		Knee.
7		Knee.
8		Knee.
9		Knee.
10		Knee.
11		Knee.
12	VFL	Massive return from injury. Seven clearances, six inside-50s and 35 disposals.	–
13	VFL	Successful return continues – 18 contested possessions and seven clearances	–
14	VFL	Bye.	–
15	Syd	Welcome return after long absence through injury and got through OK. Will benefit.	4
16	Rich	Laid eight tackles, most of which were inside forward 50. Lively performance.	7
17	GCS	Bulldogs’ most dangerous forward. Could’ve easily ended the night with six majors.	7
18	StK	On Geary, began with a long goal. Reasonable display.	5
19	Geel	One goal and a couple of nice tackles but just six effective disposals.	2
20	NM	Off with concussion from second term.	0
21	Coll	Dangerous forward who could be handy around goals in finals.	5
22	Ess	In centre square starting four and effective. Has a bit of spark.	5
23	Frem	Damaging as a small forward. Booted two goals.	6
EF	WCE	Showed crazy courage at times. Hard at the contest and opposition ball carrier.	6
SF	Haw	Good stoppage performer and kicked important goals.	6
PF	GWS	A match-winner with four goals. Unflappable. Best story of the finals series.	8
GF	Syd	Not as damaging around goals this time, but tackled hard and often.	5

2015 Season

1		Knee.
2		Knee.
3	VFL	Great return from knee injury with 25 hard-earned possessions.	–
4	Adel	Didn’t have a large input apart from goal.	3
5	Syd	Will take time to find his feet and not a big game but kept battling.	4
6	StK	Knee buckled twice in 15 minutes. Sad story for a tough as nails kid.	3
7		Knee.
8		Knee.
9		Knee.
10		Knee.
11		Knee.
12		Knee.
13		Knee.
14		Knee.
15		Knee.
16		Knee.
17		Knee.
18		Knee.
19		Knee.
20		Knee.
21		Knee.
22		Knee.
23		Knee.
EF		Knee.

2014 Season

1	PM	Second successful practice match after returning from a knee injury.	–
2		Didn’t play for Footscray VFL.
3		Ill.
4	VFL	Bored in and won the hard footy. A bit haphazard by foot.	–
5		Ill.
6	VFL	Best afield in massive VFL win. Great sign for senior team.	–
7	VFL	Competitive showing but was let down by his ball use.	–
8	VFL	Chipped in with three goals in a welcome return to form.	–
9	VFL	Bye.	–
10	GCS	Hard nut but wasn’t able to have much impact.	4
11		Shoulder.
12		Shoulder.
13		Shoulder.
14		Shoulder.
15		Shoulder.
16	VFL	Crashed in with 20 touches and two goals. Nearing full fitness.	–
17	VFL	Super effort with 31 touches and three team-lifting goals.	–
18	VFL	In everything with two goals until going down with knee injury.	–
19		Knee.
20		Knee.
21		Knee.
22		Knee.
23		Knee.
QF		–
SF		–
PF		–
GF		–

2013 Season

1	Bris	Sub who had a few touches when he came on.	6
2	Frem	Kept plugging away in middle. His workrate and intensity were good.	6
3	Rich	On early for Wood and bored in but had minimal impact overall.	3
4		Senior emergency.
5	Geel	Kicked two nice goals and won eight contested possessions. Tough effort.	6
6	WCE	Constant ball-winner and also bagged two goals.	7
7	NM	Important goal at start of third term, but not much else.	3
8	GCS	Not subbed in until very late and struggled to get involved.	1
9	StK	Handy game and continued to work hard throughout.	5
10	Port	Suited by the slippery conditions and continues to bore in.	6
12	Coll	Picked up by Williams. Not a big impact.	3
13	Rich	Super early and helped keep the Dogs in the hunt, but drifted from the game.	6
14	Melb	Enjoys burrowing in. Likely prospect. Hard-nosed, but kicking a bit of a worry.	4
15	GWS	A game-high 11 tackles gives an indication of his output.	7
16	Ess	Going OK until cruelly cut down by a serious knee injury late.	5
17		Knee.
18		Knee.
19		Knee.
20		Knee.
21		Knee.
22		Knee.
23		Knee.
QF
SF
PF
GF

2012 Season

1	WCE	Huge positive. Kicked four goals from 13 touches then subbed off.	7
2	Adel	14 disposals in only his second game including three inside 50s.	5
3	StK	Couple of nice moves, but not a big game.	4
5	VFL	Kicked a goal and barreled in all day.	–
6	VFL	Tried hard, tackled well. A rare winner on the day.	–
7	NM	Forced to replace Cooney despite playing VFL on Sat. Sub – limited time.	0
8	GCS	Bored in for 13 possessions. Only fair.	4
10	VFL	Worked hard in close and won plenty of clearances.	–
11	VFL	Strong start in heavy going but was unsighted in 2nd half.	–
12	Port	Subbed on late and didn’t do anything of note.	1
13	Bris	Of his five inside 50s only two were effective. Disposal needs work.	3
14	Ess	Started in centre square and won clearances as well as kicking nice goal.	6
15	Frem	Didn’t use the ball well.	4
16	Haw	Tried hard but still coming to terms with the speed of game. Efficiency down.	3
18	StK	Tagged Dal Santo in great experience for the youngster. Not disgraced.	4
19	NM	Plugged away. Kicking style for a first-round draft pick is questionable.	4
20	Rich	Tried hard but its hard to believe he was a first round draft pick. Lacks polish.	5
21	Syd	Battled away manfully for six clearances and nine tackles. Tried hard.	6
22	Geel	Didn’t get into the game at all and was quiet.	3
23	Bris	Always under pressure.	5