Bailey Smith, the rising star of the AFL and a Brownlow Medal contender, recently hosted a secretive meeting with AFL CEO Andrew Dillon, Geelong’s coach Chris Scott, chief executive Steve Hocking, and head of football Andrew Mackie. The gathering took place at a Surf Coast property early on Thursday evening, highlighting Smith’s significance within the league amid recent controversies.
The meeting comes on the heels of Smith being fined for throwing two middle fingers at fans so far this season. This circumstance has created a firestorm of attention and controversy. Those episodes during Gather Round and on Easter Monday cast doubt on how he has carried himself off-field as a high profile athlete. Despite these challenges, Smith remains a highly valued player with a contract reportedly worth over $850,000 per season and lucrative partnerships with brands such as Cotton On, Monster Energy, McDonald’s, Stuff That Matters, and his own alcohol label, Barry’s.
Injuries have affected Smith’s recent performance. He pulled out late from Geelong’s upset win over Gold Coast last week. This was from a hamstring issue he picked up during their game versus West Coast only a week beforehand. He should be right for their next game against Essendon at the MCG next week. Helpfully, this adds to the mystery and fuels the fervor for his return.
In reality, the AFL has been keeping a very close eye on Geelong’s financial affairs and their compliance with financial regulations. Earlier this season Chris Scott was forced to factor some of it into his remuneration from an outside agreement with the club’s sponsor Morris Finance. This sum was credited against the Cats’ soft cap. This close scrutiny dovetails with an independent audit of third-party payments that Geelong is currently undertaking. Due to simple administrative errors in lodgement, this audit will probably result in many hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines.
Dillon’s work to build more personal connections with influential people in the league seemed to pay off in spades during this meeting. According to sources, he did not give a heavy-handed ‘talking to’ after Smith’s FIU disaster. Instead, he turned to the leadership role of being a positive example towards younger players and fans. While Dillon’s commitment to bettering relationships around the league is a more personable look at the first-time chairman’s transition into leadership, it’s certainly not the only one.
Dillon’s time at the Surf Coast was filled with 90 minutes with Smith and Geelong’s leadership group. From there, he made his way to Marvel Stadium to meet with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as was pre-arranged. His heavy agenda only highlights the need to keep producing and supporting bridges between the world of sports and the world of government.
