Devon Smith Biography

Devon Smith retires from the AFL after 182 games across 11 seasons with GWS and Essendon.

"While it wasn't an easy decision to come to, unfortunately, I couldn't quite get the body to where it needed to be to perform week-in and week-out," Smith said in a statement.

"I've loved my AFL journey, and I've had the true privilege of representing two fantastic football clubs."

Devon Smith agrees to a new two-year deal with Essendon, and will remain at the club until the end of 2023.

"It was a pretty straight-forward decision and it's good to get it (contract extension) out of the way early in the season, so I'm rapt to be signing on with the club for a further two years," Smith said.

"It's been a challenging couple of years, but the body feels really good now and I'm just loving being out there and educating our younger midfielders too. As one of the older players on the list now, I personally get a lot of energy from the young guys coming through and it's been great to feed off that."

Zach Merrett is among a host of changes to the Bombers' 2020 leadership group, with wantaway forward Joe Daniher and Orazio Fantasia also cut from the squad.

The complete overhaul will see four fresh faces serve under captain Dyson Heppell in the five-man group this year including Devon Smith, Dylan Shiel, David Zaharakis and Michael Hurley.

"It's just a good opportunity to reflect on your leadership style. I know last year I wasn't in the group but I think my leadership grew throughout the year," Hurley said.

"I saw things slightly differently, became a bit of a conduit for some of the players who weren't in the leadership group and some of the younger players. Zach will find ways to grow. He's a smart young guy, driven, so I think his leadership will continue to grow and we'll see him as a leader in the future."

After a horror 2019 ruined by injury, Devon Smith is targeting a round one return in 2020.

"Yeah, I'll be good to go from day one," Smith said of his 2020 prospects.

"I've completed all the sessions and I've got my eyes on round one. This is probably the most of a pre-season I've completed since 2016, so I'm actually feeling pretty good."

Devon Smith is set to have surgery on his troublesome knee and will miss the rest of the 2019 season.

Smith has carried a chronic knee posterior cruciate ligament injury in his knee from his time at Greater Western Sydney, and will have that operated on as well.

After consultation with a specialist, the club confirmed the midfielder would require surgery on his trochlear, underneath the kneecap. Smith had also suffered from PCL deficiency, so the decision was made to address both injuries through surgery.

Devon Smith will see a specialist this week after reporting new soreness in the knee that he has had to carefully manage over the past two years.

"During the Sydney game, Devon had three sharp episodes in his knee in a different spot to what he'd had over the last couple of years with his knee having a PCL deficiency, which means the PCL isn't present," club performance manager Justin Crow said.

"He's got a new lesion within the knee, so he will be off for a specialist opinion this week and we'll be able to update further once we've got more direction from the specialist."

Less than a year after he left Greater Western Sydney, Devon Smith wins Essendon best and fairest.

Smith 370 votes to beat skipper Dyson Heppell (360 votes) and third-placed Zach Merrett (355 votes).

"To win the Crichton Medal in his first year at the club is an enormous achievement," Essendon coach John Worsfold said.

"Devon really delivered on all aspects of the game and went over and above what we expected from him.

"His attitude before arriving at Essendon was outstanding, to ensure his body was right by executing his knee rehab and getting himself in the best position to have a really good pre-season."

Devon Smith says not being selected for the Giants' 2017 preliminary final against Richmond was the catalyst for his decision to move to Essendon.

"I did so much work to get up for that game and unfortunately didn't get picked, and I understand why. It was the right thing, I hadn't played for five weeks," Smith said.

"But I did everything right to play and didn't get picked. After we lost that I knew in my heart I was ready to come home."

Devon Smith is involved in a heated exchange with teammate Darcy Parish during an intraclub match, although they were said to be in good spirits afterwards.

"I think it's competitive footy. You're not going hard enough if boys aren't competing for spots," Smith said.

"I've been told to be myself here. You've got to find the line and obviously (there are) all the new rules now with fines and stuff. But you've got to play on the edge.

"That's the sport we play."

Devon Smith is given the No.5 jumper at Essendon, worn in the past by Bombers greats James Hird, Terry Daniher and, more recently, Brent Stanton.

"Coming from the Giants, there wasn't much history or background with numbers, so to walk in and see Terry Daniher, Brent Stanton and James Hird on the locker and what they've achieved, is pretty cool," Smith said.

"But at the same time, it's now my jumper, and I'm hoping to make myself proud and my family proud.

"It's pretty cool to wear No.5, and knowing my brother used to wear it in the backyard on a long-sleeve jumper thinking he was 'Hirdy', I think he'd be pretty jealous."

Devon Smith believes the knee injury that hampered his final year at Greater Western Sydney won't affect his goal to play as a full-time midfielder at Essendon.

"It's going really well. I was advised to have eight weeks off and I had about seven-and-a-half and have been running for four weeks and it feels really good," Smith said.

"I don't think they would have signed me up if I wasn't ready to go and play good senior level footy."

Essendon part with their No.11 pick in exchange for Devon Smith.

As part of the deal, Essendon is also set to give its third-round pick in the 2018 draft to the Giants.

A desire to spend more time in the midfield sparked Devon Smith's decision to leave GWS, and while he denied being left out of the preliminary final 22 was the main reason for him departing, he told NAB AFL Trade Radio that it will play a part in his future.

"It wasn't the final nail but it definitely didn't help," he said.

"It was a great atmosphere sitting there watching in the stands but it was quite strange being an emergency and not suiting up.

"It's a very disappointing way to end after being up there for six years as a foundation player, and playing 100 games.

"It's something that will motivate me and going forward I'll definitely remember how I felt."

GWS expects a first round pick from Essendon for wantaway forward Devon Smith.

"(Smith) was a first-round pick when he was selected and he's only 24 years of age, so he hasn’t really diminished in value I wouldn't have thought," Giants list manager Craig Cameron said.

Devon Smith nominates Essendon as his club of choice in the upcoming trade period.

Wantaway Giant Devon Smith has toured Essendon and Carlton's training facilities.

The 24-year-old didn't play in any of Greater Western Sydney's finals after missing week one against Adelaide with the knee injury he battled for much of the year.

"A big one for Devon is the player management, how they manage the players (coming) back through rehab," Smith's manager Ned Guy told NAB AFL Trade Radio.

"Obviously he was in a race against time to get back for the prelim final and just missed out, so he's just assessing everything at each club as a whole and he'll make a call pretty quickly."

The Giants are set to trade Matthew Kennedy and Devon Smith, after both players informed the club this week they wanted to explore their trade options.

GWS says Devon Smith is a required player despite being out of contract and seemingly out of favour at the club.

"We'd really like him to stay," Giants' football manager Wayne Campbell told SEN radio.

"We've had a contract in front of him for two or three months now, so there'll be lots of talk over the next two to three weeks, but we'd like Devon to stay for sure."

Carlton has emerged as the frontrunner in the race to lure Giant Devon Smith home to Victoria.

It's believed the former Geelong Falcon wants more time in the midfield after playing largely as a forward in his six seasons with the Giants.

Tim Taranto says GWS teammates Toby Greene, Devon Smith and Steve Johnson have contributed significantly to his development.

"When I first walked in the door I noticed how good Toby was, he'd tear it apart at training," he said.

"I just think he's an absolute stud, and the best one-on-one player in the competition with his marking and the way he uses his body.

"Devon has been really helpful to me. We live close to each other, so he takes me to games and gives me a lot of advice.

"Then there's Stevie, who is still teaching me how to kick, his leadership and knowledge is just invaluable, and he's always in the right spot at the right time.

"There's a lot of talent here and you'd be silly not to try and learn as much as possible from them, and put it into your own game."

Devon Smith will undergo knee surgery after tearing the meniscus in his right knee at training, and could be missing from anywhere between six and 12 weeks.

Devon Smith is set to miss at least two months of footy with a knee problem.

Smith has struggled with his left knee for the last two months and will have surgery next week after initial treatment for a cartilage issue failed to fix the problem.

“We consulted with a specialist late last week and after weighing up a number of options in recent days, the decision has been made to tidy up some of the cartilage in his knee that has been causing discomfort," Giants' head of athletic performance David Joyce said of Smith's knee.

Callan Ward and key defender Phil Davis will co-captain GWS for a fifth-straight season, but Shane Mumford and Tom Scully have made way for four new additions to the group.

Reigning club champion Heath Shaw will again support Ward and Davis, who have shared the skipper's role since the Giants entered the competition in 2012.

Gun midfielders Stephen Coniglio, Dylan Shiel and Devon Smith, and defender Matt Buntine, all 22-year-old Giants' 'originals', have been given a spot on the leadership team for the first time.

"We've had young guys who have been doing leadership stuff for four years that they've been here and they're ready to step in," Ward said.

"We didn't want the group too large, and seven is the perfect number for us.

"We've got four fifth-year players who are terrific leaders, terrific men; that's what we're about at this football club, great men and great people so I think it's really good signs for us.

"They'll fill the shoes really well."

Devon Smith signs a two-year deal with Greater Western Sydney and says the lure of premiership glory kept him at the Giants.

"This is the place I want to be," Smith said.

"When you sit down and think about what you want at the end of your career, I want to play in a premiership, that's what everyone plays for."

The youngster, who hails from Lara near Geelong, admitted he found the move to Sydney initially challenging.

"It took a while for me to settle in Sydney, but now I love it," he said.

"I bought a boat and 'Jez' (Jeremy Cameron) and I are out fishing all the time. My girlfriend has moved up, my family come up frequently and I'm really enjoying the Sydney lifestyle."

Shane Mumford has capped a stellar first season with Greater Western Sydney by winning the Kevin Sheedy Medal for the club's best and fairest player of 2014.

Mumford finished with 81 votes despite missing five matches early in the season with a knee injury, claiming the award ahead of Callan Ward and Devon Smith, who tied for second.

"Shane has played an instrumental role in leading the Giants' midfield this year," GWS coach Leon Cameron said.

"He is one of the leaders of the club and, with the rest of the leadership group, helps set the standards and behaviours of the playing group."

Reece Conca insists he's a fair player despite being reported for striking Giant Devon Smith from behind.

Smith was leaving the ground after a scuffle with the Tiger, when Conca ran up behind him and struck the Giant in the back of the head with his elbow.

"Obviously it wasn't the smartest move," Conca admitted.

"But it's out of my control now, so I'll just let it be and see what happens. I'd like to think I'm a fair player but once you cross the line it gets a bit heated."

Devon Smith becomes the latest in a record number of Giants to earn a NAB AFL Rising Star nomination after tallying 21 disposals against Port Adelaide in only the club's second win.

Taylor Adams and Devon Smith grew up friends in the Geelong area and this week will return home to tackle the Cats at Simonds Stadium.

"We became friends and then played footy together and against each other from about under-14s onwards," Adams said.

"It's been about five or six years and we played against each other and had a few biffs and what not, but we've been friends ever since."

Devon Smith makes his AFL debut for GWS at Stadium Australia with 15 disposals (8 kicks and 7 handballs), 3 marks and 5 tackles in a 63-point loss to Sydney.