Overview
Isaac Smith (born 30 December 1988) is a former Australian rules football player who previously played for the Hawthorn Football Club and Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League. Smith was drafted by the Hawthorn with the 19th pick in the 2010 AFL draft and played ten seasons for the Hawks. He took part in each of Hawthorn's three consecutive Grand Final victories from 2013 to 2015. Following the 2020 season, Smith moved to the Geelong Football Club as a free agent and played with the Cats for three seasons. He won his fourth premiership with Geelong in 2022 and was awarded the Norm Smith Medal as the game's best player. Smith retired from AFL at the conclusion of the 2023 AFL season, his third year at Geelong.
Early career
Smith was born in Young, New South Wales and moved to Cootamundra where he attended school. As a child he played Australian rules football and basketball with Luke Breust in Temora. Moving to Wagga Wagga when he was 13, Smith played with future Hawthorn teammate Matt Suckling in the Wagga Hawks for several years before both moved to the Wagga Tigers where they won two premierships. Smith then played with Albury in the Ovens & Murray Football League in 2007.
Smith later moved to Victoria to take up a Sports Management Degree at the University of Ballarat. He joined the Redan Football Club and became known for being an effective left-footed kick in the Redan reserves. After winning the 2009 senior Ballarat Football League (BFL) Grand Final, he resisted North Ballarat's overtures to do a pre-season with them, but by midway through 2010, he was not only being pulled again by the Roosters, but pushed from within by Redan.
Smith had a meteoric rise in 2010, starting the year playing with Redan in the BFL and finishing in North Ballarat's Victorian Football League (VFL) premiership side. Smith was also a member of the successful Victorian Country Football League (VCFL) team that won the 2010 Australian Country Football Championships in Canberra.
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