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Sport Nation
"Best player in the comp": The star Cat on top of the AFL
Jaiden Sciberras • June 2nd, 2025 8:52 pm
Legendary Bulldog Brad Johnson has labelled Geelong's Bailey Smith as the AFL’s best player in 2025.
The 24-year-old midfielder has been a revelation since joining the Cats this season, playing phenomenal football despite entering the season off the back of an ACL.
Averaging 31.5 disposals, six tackles, five clearances, seven score involvements and 690 metres gained per game, the star Cat has taken his game to ridiculous levels through his first 11 games.
Smith’s 38-disposal haul against the Eagles on Sunday night was enough to earn Smith nine coaches’ votes, elevating him to the top of the player of the year leaderboard with 59 votes across the season.
With that in mind, Johnson went big on his belief that the star has eclipsed his peers, taking pole position atop the AFL's elite.
“He’s the best player in the comp at the moment,” Johnson told SEN Sportsday.
“I don’t think there is any player going better than he is.
“Watching him again last night, he’s doing it everywhere. His work rate and speed is enormous, he’s getting 30+ every single week.
“He’s in the conversation everywhere. It’s just whether or not he has officially become, at the half-way mark of the season, the number one player.
“That adds value. Learning the system is the hardest part, for a player who hasn’t played the game for 12 months to go in and learn a new system and execute as well as he did (is tremendous)”
Beyond Bailey Smith, Johnson was complementary of the Cats’ elite medium-sized role players.
Winning four of their last five games including vital wins over the Bulldogs and the Magpies, Johnson believes that Geelong’s elite cohort of smalls around the ground have played a vital role in returning the Cats’ top form.
“This is why the Cats have become the team they have,” he continued.
“Gryan Miers is back to his very best, 26 (disposals), kicked two.
“You’ve got (Shaun) Mannagh playing the role, (Brad) Close is a bit more defensive with the opposition’s best.
“All these mid-sized forwards that were struggling a little bit for the Cats are all of a sudden back to their very best, which helps with their connection.”
Geelong are set to host the Suns this Saturday in a play-off for a position in the top four.
