Cornes urges Carlton to go after “vulnerable” Geelong recruit

Bailey Smith has been electric in his opening games for Geelong.

Prolific in his first five outings for the Cats, the recruit is leading the way at the club for total disposals and inside 50s, while ranking second in several stats including contested possessions and clearances.

But he has attracted headlines in recent weeks for non-football acts, receiving a double fine following the Cats’ Easter Monday win over Hawthorn.

Following Round 5’s $1000 sanction for flipping the bird to an Adelaide Crows supporter, the Geelong recruit has once again been fined, with a $3125 fine for shoving the football into Jarman Impey’s head, and another $3125 as a second offence for flipping the bird once again.

While Smith has been excellent from a football perspective, SEN’s Kane Cornes is unsure as to whether his on-field antics are beneficial for both himself and the game.

“Good for the game, or pull your head in?” Cornes asked on SEN Sportsday.

“What side are you more on? Because he is absolutely box office and he’s playing well. He is bums on seats, he’s an agitator.

“I’m more on the line of pull your head in.”

Ahead of Geelong’s clash with Carlton at the MCG this Sunday, Cornes believes that the repeated incidents suggest emotional volatility, indicating that the Blues should be putting significant time into the star to take his mind off the game.

“If I’m Carlton this week, I don’t think anyone has really gone at him yet,” Cornes continued.

“I’d really try and physically go after him and see if you can really get under his skin. That will be the next test for him.

“I think he’s really vulnerable and emotionally volatile and I’m yet to see a club really test him in that space.”

Referencing Smith’s ball-to-the-face incident, Dermott Brereton felt the Cats midfielder was extremely lucky not to do any serious damage to Impey.

“I thought Bailey Smith was the most lucky player in the AFL on the weekend,” Brereton said on SEN’s Dwayne’s World.

“You know I’ll try and get Attila the Hun off a charge. So the one thing I’d say, when he gave Jarman Impey a whack with the ball to the side of the cheek… I would think that a ball is every bit as hard as a fist.

“I thought he was desperately lucky. If you don’t expect that in your workplace, that’s as hard a hit.. if it was a fist only then that’s weeks.

“It’s just because it’s the ball and we think it’s cheeky. It’s not cheeky, it bloody hurts. If you land on a ball you can break your ribs. If you get the ball slammed into the side of your face, it could click your jaw across.

“I was surprised it didn’t start something on the day. If you punch a bloke and it doesn’t concuss you, you still get weeks.”

The 4-2 Cats and the 2-4 Blues go head to head this Sunday afternoon at the MCG.