Ex-Dog Bailey Smith ready to embrace life as a Cat

Effectively, the Cats gave up picks 17 and 38 in exchange for Smith and pick 45.

The 23-year-old missed all of 2024 with an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear, and told the 'Dogs in September of his wish to be traded.

Bailey's first day 💪 — Geelong Cats (@GeelongCats) #WeAreGeelong pic.twitter.com/mfzrCxOSfNOctober 17, 2024

Geelong, under premiership coach Chris Scott, have built a reputation of nurturing their players and encouraging them to embrace a more relaxed lifestyle outside of the hustle-and-bustle of Melbourne.

Smith said the Cats' talent-laden list was exciting, but it was what the club has to offer outside of football that attracted him the most.

"The future's exciting. It's a successful club," Smith said in a club interview on Thursday.

"And just the way they go about footy, but more importantly life and the balance they have and the people Geelong breeds - that's what's drawn me there the most.

"The footy stuff is always amazing, and I suppose it's a lot of people's No.1 thing.

"But (for me) it's more the type of people within the four walls.

"It's a privilege to be able to get to know them and hopefully I can add something to what is already an exciting list."

Smith's move to Geelong was by no means a guarantee, and he did his best to stay relaxed as the trade clock wound down.

"I went for a nice long walk. I was at the park when it went through ... watching the sunset, which was nice," he said.

"Left it to the last minute, but it was all good."

Smith, who notched 103 games for the Bulldogs and played a key role in the club's run to the 2021 grand final, plans to move to Geelong in November ahead of pre-season training.

The star midfielder ruptured his ACL at Bulldogs training last December, but says he's now fully recovered.

"I'm fully fit now, so fully ready to go," he said.

"I'm very excited for when day one of pre-season rolls around, I'm itching for it."