{"id":244140,"date":"2025-10-27T13:03:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T13:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/244140\/"},"modified":"2025-10-27T13:03:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-27T13:03:12","slug":"afl-boss-andrew-dillon-breaks-his-silence-on-bailey-smiths-mad-monday-antics-as-chief-executive-issues-warning-to-geelong-superstar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/244140\/","title":{"rendered":"AFL boss Andrew Dillon breaks his silence on Bailey Smith’s Mad Monday antics as chief executive issues warning to Geelong superstar"},"content":{"rendered":"

Andrew Dillon has broken his silence for the first time on why the AFL<\/a> chose to issue a warning to Geelong star Bailey Smith, with the footy boss reminding the Cats midfielder of the expected \u2018standards\u2019 the league holds its players.<\/p>\n

Geelong were handed a stern written warning by the AFL last week, in which league chiefs advised Smith to start behaving or there would be harsher consequences.<\/p>\n

It came after the 24-year-old former Western Bulldogs<\/a> star had been scrutinised after the Cats\u2019 Mad Monday post-season party, for multiple images he published on his Instagram story, appearing to mock veteran journalist Caroline Wilson, before he was criticised for a caption on an image in which he referenced the film Brokeback Mountain.<\/p>\n

Later, a war of words erupted between him and veteran footy reporter Mark Robinson, who blasted Smith for appearing to make a rude comment about Wilson.<\/p>\n

In response to the saga, AFL general manager Greg Swann initially said that the league would be leaving Geelong to \u2018deal with the matter\u2019 despite adding that the league \u2018was not thrilled\u2019 by his behaviour.<\/p>\n

But as Smith has continued to fire digs at Robinson, the AFL\u2019s general counsel, Stephen Meade, was prompted to take action and issue a letter to the club warning them to rein in the midfielder.<\/p>\n

\"Andrew <\/p>\n

Andrew Dillon (right) has broken his silence on Bailey Smith’s (left) recent Mad Monday antics<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The footy chief explained that the AFL would be ready to step in should Smith step out of line, before reminding the Cats midfielder of the standards expected of him<\/p>\n

Now AFL chief executive Dillon has broken his silence on the recent controversy, praising Smith for his footballing talents, but again stressing that the league is keeping a close eye on him.<\/p>\n

‘I don’t think that’s changed,’ Dillon said.<\/p>\n

‘Ultimately, the decision is for the club to handle, but I think that was putting the club and Bailey on notice that if the behaviours went any further, then it might get to a stage where the AFL has to tip in.<\/p>\n

‘Bailey is a super footballer. He’s great for the game. But there are standards that all of our players and everyone who’s involved in the industry have to adhere to.<\/p>\n

‘Bailey is a 23\/24 year old. He can make his own decisions. I think he’s got some great leaders around him at the club who are all working with him.’<\/p>\n

Smith had taken to Instagram during the Mad Monday party to post an image of himself and Max Holmes, who was dressed as Channel 7 reporter, Wilson. He added a caption which read: \u2018Caro never looked so good,\u2019 with a sweat droplets emoji that often can carry sexual connotations.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Smith had also published an image of himself and Patrick Dangerfield dressed in western-themed outfits. The footy star made a reference to Brokeback Mountain, before writing a caption that read: \u2018This is what losing a granny does to ya. Alright phone away now.\u2019<\/p>\n

He copped criticism from many for the post, including former Eagles star Mitch Brown.<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The 24-year-old former Western Bulldogs star had been scrutinised after the Cats\u2019 Mad Monday post-season party, for multiple images he published on his Instagram story<\/p>\n

\"Geelong <\/p>\n

Geelong confirmed they are going to ditch their Mad Monday celebrations after widespread criticism of some controversial costumes and questionable social media antics, notably from star Bailey Smith (left)<\/p>\n

\"Smith <\/p>\n

Smith also deleted this Instagram photo of himself and Max Holmes, who was dressed as respected journalist Caroline Wilson<\/p>\n

Robinson, meanwhile, hit out at Smith for his comments about Wilson while also slamming the AFL for not acting on the matter.<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s not woke to call it out. It\u2019s decency. Be a decent person. And for the AFL to allow that to go unpunished is one of the most disgusting inactions by the AFL in my time in football,\u2019 Robinson said on Trade Radio.<\/p>\n

However, his comments prompted a response from Smith, who published a picture of Robinson on Instagram, writing: \u2018Slobbo you are one naughty boy.\u2019<\/p>\n

Dillon had been speaking during an AFL Commission meeting on Monday and faced questions over the league\u2019s decision to hand West Coast an assistance package.<\/p>\n

The embattled club, who won a premiership in 2018, has finished rock bottom of the ladder for the second time in three seasons, with captain Oscar Allen and star small forward Liam Ryan departing the club this summer for pastures new.<\/p>\n

Given their struggles, the West Coast have been handed an end-of-first-round draft pick and four additional rookie spots for 2026, 2027 and 2028.<\/p>\n

West Coast have secured Brandon Starcevic and Tylar Young from Brisbane and Richmond, and have also re-signed star man Harley Reid. But the decision to hand them a support package has been scrutinised by the club\u2019s rivals.<\/p>\n

\u2018They\u2019ve taken that package and they\u2019ve used that,\u2019 Dillon said, noting the Eagles have lingered for too long at the bottom for the table.<\/p>\n

\"Bailey <\/p>\n

Bailey Smith has appeared to hit back at Mark Robinson (pictured) on Instagram, calling him ‘slobbo’ after the footy reporter blasted Smith on AFL Trade Radio for his Mad Monday antics\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Robinson <\/p>\n

Robinson (pictured) hit out at the AFL for their lack of action over the star’s Instagram posts during Trade Radio on Thursday\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018They\u2019ve attracted a high calibre player and they\u2019ve got two early picks in the draft,’ Dillon said.<\/p>\n

\u2018I think what you want, what we want as a competition, is for all our fans of all of our clubs to have hope.<\/p>\n

\u2018And I think if you sit down at the bottom for too long, fans can lose hope. And I think what you see now at West Coast is there\u2019s a new regime.<\/p>\n

\u2018(CEO) Don (Pyke) is leading really well with (chair) Elizabeth Gaines and (coach) Andrew McQualter, who had a tough year first year, but he\u2019s going to be a good coach.<\/p>\n

\u2018So they\u2019ll get two high-quality players this year, or more than two in the draft …. and with Harley Reid as well, they are going to be OK.\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Andrew Dillon has broken his silence for the first time on why the AFL chose to issue a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":244141,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,100,1202,588,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-244140","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-afl","8":"tag-afl","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-australian-football-league","12":"tag-australianfootballleague","13":"tag-dailymail","14":"tag-instagram","15":"tag-sport","16":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244140","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=244140"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244140\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/244141"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=244140"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=244140"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=244140"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}