sensationally gave a drive-by to his former club, Western Bulldogs, in an interview with Mooney on Fox Footy<\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cBeautiful mate. Not getting that at Ballarat,\u201d Smith told Mooney in a cheeky reference to crowds at Bulldogs games.<\/p>\n
They were comments that raised some eyebrows in a season Smith landed himself in hot water a few times for his quirky antics that at times crossed the line.<\/p>\n
We don\u2019t need to rehash them. <\/p>\n
While Mooney acknowledged there were a couple or incidents he \u201cwouldn\u2019t be too happy about\u201d if he was still playing for Geelong, he thinks Smith has been able to rein it in.<\/p>\n
And the Cats great applauded Smith for backing up his brilliant 2025 season in another stellar campaign to date. The star midfielder has averaged 31.2 disposals, 4.6 tackles seven inside 50s and 5.5 clearances per game.<\/p>\n
\u201cI genuinely think he\u2019s been unbelievable for the club. On field he\u2019s been an absolute A-plus tick,\u201d Mooney said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou just watch how hard he runs. He sits on the podium from what I\u2019ve seen for players who bust their arse on the football field.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love Bailey Smith. There\u2019s a couple of things here and there, but the club has dealt with them and I don\u2019t think we\u2019ve seen too much this year. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s kept out of the spotlight and just let his footy do the talking and he\u2019s talking pretty loud when it comes to that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Smith is having another great season (Picture: Michael Klein)Source: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n
Smith\u2019s most viral moment so far in 2026 was a powerful and emotional message in support of Elijah Hollands and the Dawson family last month including a call for a men\u2019s health round.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was awesome,\u201d Mooney said.<\/p>\n
\u201c(Smith) is someone that\u2019s been through it and someone who\u2019s passionate about it.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe had a forum to say: \u2018Hey, let\u2019s just keep looking after ourselves and looking after each other\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought it was pretty powerful and I thought good on him for doing that, I liked it. He didn\u2019t do it in a disrespectful or silly way, he was just very passionate about something and I thought it was fantastic.\u201d<\/p>\n
MULLIN\u2019S LOCKDOWN ROLE ON DAICOS<\/p>\n
From a headline star of the show, to another important Cat in a less heralded role ahead of a looming Nick Daicos assignment.<\/p>\n
Geelong tagger Oisin Mullin has taken some big scalps over the last 12 months in developing a reputation as the best stopper in the game. <\/p>\n
That\u2019s included blanketing the likes of Izak Rankine (seven disposals), Marcus Bontempelli (14 disposals) and Harry Sheezel (20 disposals) for season-low returns in 2026.<\/p>\n
The Irishman will this week have his sights set on arguably the best player in the competition, Nick Daicos, in what stands as a key matchup.<\/p>\n
Daicos has been near unstoppable so far in 2026.<\/p>\n
The Pies superstar is ranked first in the AFL in disposals (36.6 per game), metres gained (697) inside 50s (8.3), third in score involvements (8.5) and fourth in effective disposals (24.2) as the Brownlow Medal favourite.<\/p>\n
This time last year, Mullin held Daicos to just three of his 28 disposals in the final term to help Geelong secure the three-point victory. So you can bet he\u2019s going to him again.<\/p>\n
Oisin Mullin is set to again be charged with a tagging job on Nick Daicos (Photo by Quinn Rooney\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
Ironically, Mullin was dubbed the Nick Daicos of Gaelic footy before he moved to Australia.<\/p>\n
So what does Mullin do that sets him apart from other taggers?<\/p>\n
Cats insiders say he\u2019s \u201csuper quick and super strong\u201d and \u201ca man who knows a role\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is what I love about taggers. Sometimes clubs go: \u2018Here\u2019s your role. If you do this well for us, week in, week out, you will play 150-20 games\u2019,\u201d Mooney continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s one of the hardest roles in the game playing on the absolute elite midfielders in our game. This week is probably the hardest job. <\/p>\n
\u201cMullin does it well because he works his backside off and doesn\u2019t try and do anything other than his job and it\u2019s a very simple role for him; stop the opposition player as best you can.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe gets bashed about and knocked around, but he is seriously tough and a seriously strong human. He\u2019s a great prototype for what Geelong want.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s over here now trying to stop the best player in the comp.\u201d<\/p>\n
FORGET THE FUTURE: WHY WE NEED TO APPRECIATE PENDLES NOW<\/p>\n
There\u2019s been plenty of talk around Scott Pendlebury in recent times as the champ prepares to equal Brent Harvey\u2019s AFL games record on Saturday night.<\/p>\n
The Pies still lean heavily on the 38-year old including missing his midfield presence last week against Hawthorn when they got belted at clearance. <\/p>\n
Pendlebury\u2019s longevity and consistent excellent over a sustained period is unrivalled in shades of what the 41-year old LeBron James is still doing in the NBA. <\/p>\n
Of course, the Pies legend was part of those blockbuster battles against Mooney\u2019s Cats all those years ago.<\/p>\n
And as Pendlebury prepares to make history, Mooney doesn\u2019t see why he can\u2019t keep playing in 2027. <\/p>\n
Scott Pendlebury is closing in on the AFL games record (Photo by Craig Dooley\/AFL Photos via Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
Though for now, the Geelong champion is simply enjoying the show. <\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn’t say it\u2019s his last year and I don\u2019t know why anyone would even be talking about it until the end of the year. It\u2019s something that just doesn\u2019t need to be spoken about now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s just watch a genuine superstar go about his business in the twilight of his career. He\u2019s not limping to the line. <\/p>\n
\u201cUnless he falls off a cliff by the end of the season, which could happen. But I think we\u2019ve been saying that for the last three or four years, and it just doesn\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he\u2019s playing good footy and he thinks he can go again and Collingwood thinks there\u2019s a spot for him, there\u2019s absolutely no reason why he couldn\u2019t go again. But let\u2019s just wait until the end of the year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arguably no club has done a better job at exiting its champions and transitioning its list in the modern era than Geelong.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s something Collingwood will try and emulate with club greats Pendlebury, Steele Sidebottom and Jeremy Howe in their twilight years.<\/p>\n
Mooney said it\u2019s a \u201cdelicate\u201d balance and admitted some Cats legends \u201cdidn\u2019t want to retire\u201d when they were told their time was up and \u201cweren\u2019t happy.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said it\u2019s \u201cmore on the player\u201d than the club to \u201clook in the mirror\u201d and \u201cbe honest with themselves\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all get to the end and we want to go an extra year, we want to keep going. When you\u2019re playing, you don\u2019t think it\u2019s going to end, particularly when you\u2019re an established player,\u201d the triple premiership player added.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it gets to the point when the club doesn\u2019t think they can, well, he has to accept that and not get the s***s with the club. Particularly if you\u2019ve played 200, 300-plus games, they\u2019ve given you a fair life.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt does come to an end. The one thing that\u2019s not beaten is Father Time.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Geelong legend Cameron Mooney knows the club\u2019s rivalry with Collingwood better than most. Mooney played in several of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":656274,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[317314,12259,64,63,689,317313,684,317324,317315,37346,156828,37351,317319,317322,39199,1129,21871,19120,7803,10133,10143,317320,317325,7483,11294,13659,2105,32923,42717,10132,122335,7896,317323,647,317317,38700,73082,677,8015,315289,3509,28008,317316,19083,85,317321,36848,317318,315293,315813,111710,660,698],"class_list":["post-656742","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-absolute-elite-midfielders","tag-andrew-dillon","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-bailey-smith-dig","tag-ben-cotton","tag-best-value-off-season","tag-blockbuster-battles","tag-brayden-maynard","tag-brent-harvey","tag-cameron-mooney","tag-cats-insiders","tag-cats-tagger","tag-cats-v","tag-charlie-curnow","tag-cheeky-dig","tag-christian-petracca","tag-clayton-oliver","tag-collingwood-magpies","tag-craig-mcrae","tag-dominant-era","tag-epic-encounter","tag-final-term","tag-football-field","tag-geelong-cats","tag-getty-images-inc","tag-grand-final-appearance","tag-jack-crisp","tag-jeremy-howe","tag-key-figures","tag-lebron-james","tag-magpies-preview","tag-melbourne","tag-midfield-presence","tag-modern-era","tag-multiple-finals","tag-oceania","tag-opposition-player","tag-party-plan","tag-question-marks","tag-quinn-rooney","tag-real-scalp","tag-scott-pendlebury","tag-sports","tag-stealth-contender","tag-steele-sidebottom","tag-tagging-job","tag-top-trade-bargain","tag-trade-values","tag-triple-premiership-player","tag-victoria","tag-western-bulldogs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/656742","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=656742"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/656742\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/656274"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=656742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=656742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=656742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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