Bradley Phillip Smith (born 11 May 1979) is a former

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er, who played for in the

West Australian Football League The West Australian Football League (WAFL) is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The league currently consists of ten teams, which play each other in a 20-round season usually lasting from March to September, ...

(WAFL) from 1998–2009. He was also listed with the

West Coast Eagles The West Coast Eagles are a professional Australian rules football club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 as one of two expansion teams in the Australian Football League (AFL), then known as the Victorian Football ...

in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...

(AFL) from 2005–06, but was not able to play a single game for the club due to two

knee reconstruction Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACL reconstruction) is a surgical tissue graft replacement of the anterior cruciate ligament, located in the knee, to restore its function after an injury. The torn ligament can either be removed from ...

Early career

Smith is the son of former Geelong and West Perth forward Phil Smith. He considered nominating for the 1997 AFL Draft, but other interests put his AFL career on hold. Over time he began to re-emerge as a solid tall forward playing for Subiaco in the WAFL, kicking 109 goals in 2004, winning the

Bernie Naylor Medal The Bernie Naylor Medal is an Australian rules football award which is given to the leading goalkicker at the end of each home and away season in the West Australian Football League. It is named after South Fremantle full-forward Bernie Naylor. Be ...

for leading goalkicker.

West Coast Eagles

He was drafted by the West Coast Eagles at pick 57 in the 2004 AFL draft. Smith was considered a key prospect for the full forward position, due to the

’ lack of quality

key position Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

forwards.

Knee problems

Early in 2005 he suffered a severe

knee In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the hu ...

injury An injury is any physiological damage to living tissue caused by immediate physical stress. An injury can occur intentionally or unintentionally and may be caused by blunt trauma, penetrating trauma, burning, toxic exposure, asphyxiation, o ...

during a

pre-season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of Se ...

practice match. He required a

, an injury which sidelined him for the 2005 season. His bad luck continued, and in the 2006 pre-season he injured the same

during a routine training drill. This injury required yet another reconstruction, ruling him out for the entire 2006 season.

Return to WAFL

He was delisted by the West Coast Eagles at the end of the 2006 season and returned to Subiaco, where he kicked more goals in a WAFL season than any player since

Warren Ralph Warren James Ralph (born 25 February 1959) is a former Australian rules footballer who played during the 1980s with great success as a full-forward for Claremont in the WAFL and with lesser success in the VFL and SANFL. Ralph began his caree ...

in 1983. He finished off the 2008 season with 110 goals and another premiership under his belt. Smith retired after the 2009 season. He currently works in player recruitment at the West Coast Eagles.

External links

WAFL player profile

West Coast Eagles player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Brad 1979 births Living people Australian rules footballers from Western Australia Subiaco Football Club players