Exciting young Crow Brodie Smith has signed a two-year contract extension, tying him to the Club until at least the end of 2016.
Selected with pick No.14 in the 2010 AFL National Draft, Smith has played 56 games for Adelaide.
The 22-year-old has established himself as an integral part of the Crows defence, where he uses his offensive run and neat foot skills to the team’s advantage. Smith has been one of Adelaide’s best performers in the opening two rounds of the season. He amassed 28 possessions, seven marks, seven inside 50ms and a trademark long-range goal in Showdown XXXVI on Saturday.
Recruited from Woodville-West Torrens, Smith said he was rapt to re-sign with Adelaide.
“I want to repay the faith the Club has showed in me. They have been good to me and my family. It was a pretty easy decision when the Club offered me a new contract to get pen to paper as soon as possible,” Smith said.
“It hasn’t been a perfect start to the season, but the boys are keen to make amends for the past couple of weeks. We’ve got a lot of guys in the 30-60-game bracket, so we’re pretty young still. If we can stick together and play some good footy, there can only be positives out of that and we’ll definitely be on the up. The next few years should be really exciting.”
General Manager of List Development and Strategy David Noble said Smith had quickly developed into one of the Club’s most important players.
“Brodie has already forged a reputation as a big game performer,” Noble said.
“Going forward, we seem him becoming a key part of our talented midfield group. We are always keen to develop and foster local talent and Brodie is a perfect example of that.”
Smith made his AFL debut against Hawthorn in Round One, 2011, and has only missed a handful of games through injury since. In 2013, the damaging ball winner led the Club in rebound 50ms and was equal-first in running bounces. He also starred in Adelaide’s 2012 finals campaign.
An All-Australian Under-18 midfielder, Smith was earmarked for a move into Adelaide’s engine room this year, but the injury to utility Ricky Henderson has put those plans on hold – for now.
“It was nice to get a bit of time on the wing on the weekend which I enjoyed, but I’m comfortable playing wherever – wherever the team needs me I’ll play,” he said.
“Every year I’ve felt more comfortable, especially this year. I’ve had a good start to the year personally but, hopefully, we can perform a bit better as a team, get a few wins and get ourselves back up the ladder.”
Noble indicated Smith could be the first in a line of signings for the Crows.
“The Club is talking with several other players about contract extensions, and more announcements are on the horizon,” he said.
Smith said the team was looking forward to its first home game at Adelaide Oval against the Sydney Swans at 1:40pm on Saturday.
“It was awesome (on Saturday), just the noise when we ran out. Even though it was an ‘away’ crowd and we were getting booted, it was a good feeling out there,” he said.
“The stadium is awesome and we’re really looking forward to that being full of Crows supporters and getting cheered onto the field instead of booed. It’s a really good atmosphere and we’re looking forward to this week.”
Brodie’s onboard, are you? Support the Club by becoming a member. Membership starts from only $50 for an adult and $25 for a junior. Find out more about 2014 membership.
