Brad R. Smith
Encyclopedia
Brad R. Smith is a former Australian rules football
er who played with North Melbourne
in the Victorian Football League
(VFL) during the 1970s. He also had a long career in the West Australian National Football League
(WANFL) where he played for East Perth
and coached East Fremantle
.
Smith was a late comer to VFL football as he had spent eight years at East Perth before joining North Melbourne. He was a member of East Perth's 1972 and 1978 premiership teams and a back pocket
player in the North Melbourne side which lost the 1974 VFL Grand Final
.
His stint in Victoria lasted just two seasons and in 1976 he returned to East Perth and ended up with 222 WANFL games. During this time he also represented Western Australia in six interstate matches. Smith was appointed coach of East Fremantle in 1979 and promptly steered them to the premiership. Although he was recruited as a non-playing coach to East Fremantle, he also took the field for two games in 1979 and three games in 1980, thus finishing with 227 WANFL/WAFL games in his career. Despite a successful first year as coach, the 1980 season was a struggle and East Fremantle only narrowly avoided the wooden spoon. In response to their poor season, East Fremantle decided to appoint a full-time coach for the 1981 season (all previous coaching appointments were part-time) and Smith left to join East Perth as an assistant coach under Grant Dorrington. As the reigning premiership coach, Smith coached the WA state side in four matches in 1980, including the 1980 Australian Football Carnival, held in Adelaide in October.
In 2006 Smith was named on the interchange bench in East Perth's official 'Post-war Team of the Century' (1945 to 2005).
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
er who played with North Melbourne
North Melbourne Football Club
The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Kangaroos, is the fourth oldest Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League and is one of the oldest sporting clubs in Australia and the world...
in the Victorian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
(VFL) during the 1970s. He also had a long career in the West Australian National Football League
West Australian Football League
The West Australian Football League is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The WAFL is the second-most popular in the state, behind the nation-wide Australian Football League...
(WANFL) where he played for East Perth
East Perth Football Club
The East Perth Football Club, nicknamed the Royals, is an Australian rules football club that is a member of the West Australian Football League...
and coached East Fremantle
East Fremantle Football Club
The East Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed the Sharks, is an Australian rules football club playing in the West Australian Football League . The team's home ground is East Fremantle Oval...
.
Smith was a late comer to VFL football as he had spent eight years at East Perth before joining North Melbourne. He was a member of East Perth's 1972 and 1978 premiership teams and a back pocket
Back pocket
In Australian rules football, the back pocket refers to a position on the field deep in defence.Back pocket players, situated in the backline, need to have good spoiling skills and usually, quality back-pockets are noted for their hardness....
player in the North Melbourne side which lost the 1974 VFL Grand Final
1974 VFL Grand Final
The 1974 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Richmond Football Club and North Melbourne Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 28 September 1974. It was the 78th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to...
.
His stint in Victoria lasted just two seasons and in 1976 he returned to East Perth and ended up with 222 WANFL games. During this time he also represented Western Australia in six interstate matches. Smith was appointed coach of East Fremantle in 1979 and promptly steered them to the premiership. Although he was recruited as a non-playing coach to East Fremantle, he also took the field for two games in 1979 and three games in 1980, thus finishing with 227 WANFL/WAFL games in his career. Despite a successful first year as coach, the 1980 season was a struggle and East Fremantle only narrowly avoided the wooden spoon. In response to their poor season, East Fremantle decided to appoint a full-time coach for the 1981 season (all previous coaching appointments were part-time) and Smith left to join East Perth as an assistant coach under Grant Dorrington. As the reigning premiership coach, Smith coached the WA state side in four matches in 1980, including the 1980 Australian Football Carnival, held in Adelaide in October.
In 2006 Smith was named on the interchange bench in East Perth's official 'Post-war Team of the Century' (1945 to 2005).