Rohan Smith
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| Personal Info | |
|---|---|
| Birth | 31 May 1973, Yarraville, Victoria |
| Recruited from | Kingsville |
| Height/Weight | 184cm / 80kg |
| Playing Career¹ | |
| Debut | Round 1, 1992, Footscray vs. Adelaide, at Football Park |
| Team(s) | Western Bulldogs (1992—2006)
300 games, 254 goals |
| ¹ Statistics to end of 2006 season | |
| Career Highlights | |
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Rohan H. Smith (born 31 May 1973 in Yarraville, Victoria) is an Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League.
Debuting in 1992 after being recruited around 1990, Smith has long been one of the Bulldogs' favourite sons, with his reputation rising during the mid-1990s when he became one of the best half-backs in the league. In 1997 he cemented this reputation by earning All-Australian selection.
[edit] 1997
The 1997 season was the most eventful for Smith and his team, which made a preliminary final. Despite a 4 goal lead in the last quarter, the Bulldogs had victory stolen from them by Adelaide. The battling club, which was the subject of the Year of the Dogs documentary in 1996, drastically improved in 1997 with the club being renamed from Footscray to the Western Bulldogs and seemingly a new dawn arising with a Grand Final berth likely.
With the Bulldog's surrender of a big lead, Smith is best remembered for encapsulating the feelings of the team after the loss, on his knees in the middle of the Melbourne Cricket Ground, punching the turf.
[edit] Later career
Smith again won All-Australian selection in 2003 and in recent seasons has been noted for his longevity in the game, at 33 years of age still being a valuable member of a young Bulldogs side. However, he had noticeably lost some of his pace during the 2006 season, and announced his retirement before the start of the finals series in 2006. [1] There was talk of him continuing a further year if he was stuck on 299 games, but he insisted that he would retire at the end of the season, regardless of his games tally. Fortunately, the Bulldogs won their first final, against Collingwood, to set up a 300th game for Smith which he would share with other long serving veteran and one of Smiths best friends at the club Scott West. Oddly enough, this event ensured that Smith and West were the only team mates in AFL history to share their 300th game in the same round.
Unfortunately that game would be he last, with the Bulldogs going down by 74 points, away to West Coast. An emotional Smith was chaired off the Subiaco Oval where he received a standing ovation, a testament to his illustrious career.
