Western Bulldogs star Bailey Smith is taking an indefinite leave from the club for personal reasons.
The 21-year-old midfielder has been given a pass from the club due to personal reasons, however, he’s still expected to train remotely and the club is confident his preparation for next season won’t be impacted.
Western Australian pair Tim English and Aaron Naughton and South Australian Caleb Daniel have also been given the green light to train interstate pre-Christmas because of border uncertainty due to the virus.
“We remain in close contact with Bailey, and we respect and understand his need to spend some time away from the club at the moment,” football boss Chris Grant said.
“With such a short training block before the Christmas break for the AFL squad; we are comfortable to afford Bailey the time he needs.
“We’ll support him throughout, and he’ll return when he is ready.
“Bailey has maintained an extremely high level of physical conditioning throughout his entire career, and we’re looking forward to reintegrating him into the program at the appropriate time.”
Smith has not missed a match in his first three seasons since the club selected him seventh overall in the 2018 AFL Draft.
Smith’s rise to stardom has been quick having amassed a huge following on social media.
But he admitted there were mental health challenges during his rapid climb in the AFL. Speaking to the Common Chaos podcast in October, Smith revealed he had dealt with anxiety, panic attacks, difficulty sleeping and even eating disorder symptoms.
“I acknowledge (the attention), I know it’s there, it is the elephant in my brain, but I ignore it as much as I can,” Smith said.
“The things that ground me each day – I go get my coffee, going to the beach from 10 until 2, my best friends, getting dinner. I focus on what I want to do each day and what I want to get out of myself.
“I don’t open up that much, because I’m scared of being judged – and it’s just something that’s got to do with me.
“Fear of just being taken advantage of, as well. You can’t just open up to anyone, so I don’t do that, but it’s been so refreshing over the past couple of days just to talk to you guys and not feel alone.
“There are so many people around you wanting this and that from you; it’s so easy to feel empty inside, as dark as that sounds.”
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