This must be the year for Nick to be named AA. Has not been beaten at any point and is now surely the best small defender in the game
Nick Smith AA
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Bonz
🤺🤺🤺
I agree with this, unfortunately I don't think it will happen for 3 different reasons.
1. The All Australian selectors prefer to select rebounding defenders/ Midfielders rather than negating defenders/ Taggers (Look at Ryan Crowley's exception from the two years teams for evidence of this.
2. Nick Smith doesn't get nearly as much media coverage as some other rebounding small defenders get (For a good case in point look at how much media Malceski seems to be receiving right now).
3. I am not sure how many Swans the All Australian Selectors will be able to fit into one team. Right now Kennedy, Franklin, Parker and Malceski will all be locks alongside one of Grundy or Richards with McVeigh (Selectors love him), Jack (Has had a good year since his injuries), Hanners (If he can continue his mid-season form when he returns) and Smith also being in contention it is pretty obvious that some of these players are going to miss out.
Just because I love him, here are his opponents' stats for each game this year (some games stretched my memory for who he played on, so I freely admit that a couple of them might not be accurate in terms of his opponent):
Round 1 vs GWS - Devon Smith 11 touches, 3 marks, 1 goal
Round 2 vs Collingwood - Jamie Elliott 11 touches, 2 marks, 3.2
Round 3 vs Adelaide - Eddie Betts 11 touches, 3 marks, 1 goal
Round 4 vs North - Lindsay Thomas 6 touches, 0 marks, 1.2 (and 2 huge chase down, goal-saving tackles)
Round 5 vs Fremantle - Hayden Ballantyne 11 touches, 3 marks, 2 goals
Round 6 vs Melbourne - mixture of players (Christan Salem, Shannon Byrnes who both barely touched it as Smith did a minding role on a few different players)
Round 7 vs Brisbane - same as Melbourne (Rohan Bewick, Lewis Taylor I remember him playing on and they had no impact)
Round 8 vs Hawthorn - Cyril Rioli (first half before getting hurt) 11 touches, 3 marks and Luke Breust after half time who kicked 2 on him.
Round 9 vs Essendon - can't recall
Round 10 vs Geelong - Stephen Motlop 11 touches, 2 marks, 0 goals
Round 11 vs Gold Coat - Brandon Matera 12 touches, 4 marks, 1 goal
Round 13 vs Port Adelaide - spent time on Chad Wingard and Robbie Gray in conjunction with Dane Rampe, hard to know the stats for this one but Gray was great and Wingard was quietish but still kicked 2 and set up another
Round 14 vs Richmond - Shane Edwards 12 touches, 1 mark, 0 goals
Round 15 vs GWS - can't recall (wasn't Devon Smith for the most part, he played more through the middle)
Round 16 vs West Coast - Mark Le Cras 13 touches, 2 marks, 0 goals
Round 17 vs Carlton - Dale Thomas 14 touches, 3 marks, 0 goals
Someone feel free to jog my memory about any of the ones I'm missing but come the **** on, show me any other small defender who has done as well on that kind of bunch this year.
Round 1 vs GWS - Devon Smith 11 touches, 3 marks, 1 goal
Round 2 vs Collingwood - Jamie Elliott 11 touches, 2 marks, 3.2
Round 3 vs Adelaide - Eddie Betts 11 touches, 3 marks, 1 goal
Round 4 vs North - Lindsay Thomas 6 touches, 0 marks, 1.2 (and 2 huge chase down, goal-saving tackles)
Round 5 vs Fremantle - Hayden Ballantyne 11 touches, 3 marks, 2 goals
Round 6 vs Melbourne - mixture of players (Christan Salem, Shannon Byrnes who both barely touched it as Smith did a minding role on a few different players)
Round 7 vs Brisbane - same as Melbourne (Rohan Bewick, Lewis Taylor I remember him playing on and they had no impact)
Round 8 vs Hawthorn - Cyril Rioli (first half before getting hurt) 11 touches, 3 marks and Luke Breust after half time who kicked 2 on him.
Round 9 vs Essendon - can't recall
Round 10 vs Geelong - Stephen Motlop 11 touches, 2 marks, 0 goals
Round 11 vs Gold Coat - Brandon Matera 12 touches, 4 marks, 1 goal
Round 13 vs Port Adelaide - spent time on Chad Wingard and Robbie Gray in conjunction with Dane Rampe, hard to know the stats for this one but Gray was great and Wingard was quietish but still kicked 2 and set up another
Round 14 vs Richmond - Shane Edwards 12 touches, 1 mark, 0 goals
Round 15 vs GWS - can't recall (wasn't Devon Smith for the most part, he played more through the middle)
Round 16 vs West Coast - Mark Le Cras 13 touches, 2 marks, 0 goals
Round 17 vs Carlton - Dale Thomas 14 touches, 3 marks, 0 goals
Someone feel free to jog my memory about any of the ones I'm missing but come the **** on, show me any other small defender who has done as well on that kind of bunch this year.
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- #4
Bloody good memory
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- #5
You're probably right, although I have heard more about Nck this year than ever before. He is an under the radar type and not flashy, but very consistent
Memory of who he played on, use of footywire.com for actual stats.
Early Sunday morning. Voice croaky from cheering on the boys. I happily defer to your knowledge of those rounds. Good stuff.
FWIW he should get a nod. But we'll likely have Teddy, Mal, Macca, Parker, JPK and Buddy in AA contention/locks. So some like Nick will miss out.
But let's face it, being one of the best defenders for the Swans considering our backline credentials pretty much means you've reached the pinnacle in the code right now anyway.
MarkP
That guy
For 2 years every time he goes near it the commentators say "most underrated...blah blah".
Surely it has to be time to just say the best small defender in the game from them and make him get picked.
I think Healy is still on the panel and he is a fan so it should come this year. Travesty if it doesn't.
grimlock
Hall of Famer
I think Essendon one of the Merretts and GWS Will Hoskin-Elliott
My memory is that whenever I saw Hoskin Elliott in the second GWS game I saw him next to Laidler but I can't say I saw him a lot during the game, so perhaps.
I think Zach Merrett played a good game against us on a wing so maybe it was Jackson. In any case, Smith certainly didnt have his colours lowered in either game.
grimlock
Hall of Famer
So the OCDer compelled me to have a look through each game. J.Merrett/Zaharakis in the 1st, Melksham in the 2nd quarter and Aylett/Goddard in the 3rd against the Dons and against GWS had WHE/Kelly/Smith in the 1st half and WHE/Wardin the 2nd , at least in the short passage of play I fast forwarded through.
Smith also subbed out against the Bombers
Smith also subbed out against the Bombers
Right, so just taking whoever he needs to. The defence seems to be happy to chop and change match ups on the fly too so I imagine he, Ted and Reg just sort out who goes where when they see who wanders into the forward line. When there isn't an obvious gun forward to match up on like Wingard, LeCras or Ballantyne anyway.
I doubt he'll make the 22 incidentally. The selectors just don't seem that keen on picking defenders who don't win more than 15 touches a game, particularly if they're smalls. Sean Dempster won selection a few years ago but I think he had about 18 a game. I just hope he gets a spot in the squad. He deserves a spot in he 22 but if he gets a squad spot, I think that is a genuine recognition of how good he is, considering I bet many commentators around the country still wouldn't pick him if they bumped into him walking down the street.
I doubt he'll make the 22 incidentally. The selectors just don't seem that keen on picking defenders who don't win more than 15 touches a game, particularly if they're smalls. Sean Dempster won selection a few years ago but I think he had about 18 a game. I just hope he gets a spot in the squad. He deserves a spot in he 22 but if he gets a squad spot, I think that is a genuine recognition of how good he is, considering I bet many commentators around the country still wouldn't pick him if they bumped into him walking down the street.
Blacky
The King
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If you were picking a team to beat another team (not just a collection of names) he would be a walk up start
Semi-related I really hope this is the year that Mal can make the team and not just the squad which he has made a number of times
Semi-related I really hope this is the year that Mal can make the team and not just the squad which he has made a number of times
baja
Premiership Player
Did I see Nick Smith take a specky over 196cm Lachie Henderson last night?
The King!
Chosen One
He needs a flashier name
swansfan51
Brownlow Medallist
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Nic Smithanui or Ned Smithgard would probably get him a nomination
MarkP
That guy
Fun Nick Smith fact for 2014 so far
Free kicks for 11
Free kicks against 3
He not only towles up the zippy little fellas he does it legit.
Imagine if he took a Crowley or Maccaffer mindset into the game to push the envelope as far as he can and then teensy bit more?
Huge man crush from me.
Free kicks for 11
Free kicks against 3
He not only towles up the zippy little fellas he does it legit.
Imagine if he took a Crowley or Maccaffer mindset into the game to push the envelope as far as he can and then teensy bit more?
Huge man crush from me.
SM
Bigfooty Legend
Discussed this on the Podcast, I just don't think the selectors rate negative players like Smith. Which is unfortunate, but they seem to give the BP spots to extra mids.
MarkP
That guy
SM
Bigfooty Legend
Sorry, haven't listened in this week. I should go on there one day if only to sledge SR's missus about Tippett.
Shoot Bonz or myself a PM and we should be able to sort something out.
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- #24
the thing I love most about Nick is his response to hte question can you see yourself back in Melbourne? "No"
