Matthew Lloyd makes worrying call on Luke Beveridge over unjustified Bailey Smith tactics

AFL great Matthew Lloyd has claimed Luke Beveridge's tendency to play Bailey Smith and the other exiting players out of position could be his downfall at the Western Bulldogs. Smith was the biggest name traded in a frantic last 10 minutes of negotiations at Marvel Stadium, before the deadline finished on Wednesday.

Smith was about to come off contract after missing the season due to a knee reconstruction, but had requested a trade and got his preferred move to the Cats. Western Bulldogs fans had already been frustrated with Bailey's actions of late having been heavily linked with Geelong after a photo was released last month.

Geelong gave up the No.17 draft pick for the enigmatic Smith, plus a number of later selections. And while Geelong would have been thrilled to land another talented midfielder to join their roster, Essendon great Lloyd feels Beveridge is only just hanging on to his job.

Smith was once claimed to be a long-term prospect for the struggling club with a rebuild around the youngster a possibility. However, his injuries and game time appeared to make him unhappy on the field.

And Lloyd claimed Beveridge's decision to play Smith, Jack Macrae and Caleb Daniel out of position has led to their departure. Daniel joined St Kilda, while Macrae joined North Melbourne.

"I think they've just lost far too many players high quality players. To lose three star players, All-Australians, and every single one of them is being played out of position. Bailey Smith played out of position. Caleb Daniel is in and out of the team, played out of position and Jack Macrae is in and out of the team, out of position," Lloyd said on 3AW Radio.

"They all want to go and play and be settled down on their spot. That's the criticism I have of the Western Bulldogs. Everything is on the line for Luke Beveridge next year. I think the way the players have left his club, I think Luke Beveridge has got to make a grand final if he is going to coach on the year after."

Bulldogs list manager Sam Power said they "exhausted all avenues" in negotiations with Geelong over Smith, who is about to come out of contract after missing all this season because of a knee reconstruction.

Smith was never an All-Australian, but Lloyd may see the 23-year-old as a future selection. Fans were frustrated to see Daniel and Macrae go after falling out of favour with Beveridge, but Smith's lack of game time in 2024 due to injury appears to have been easier to swallow for Bulldogs fans.

Western Bulldogs farewell post to Bailey Smith causes backlash

While fans were disappointed to see two All-Australians depart - the club wished Daniel and Macrae all the best at North Melbourne and St Kilda - fans were not so receptive of Smith's actions in recent weeks. Smith put in a trade request last month and was tipped to find a home in Geelong having been captured in a photo with people involved with the Cats last month. The talented star played 106 games across six seasons since being drafted in 2017.

And after his departure, the Western Bulldogs showed grace in sending him off with a farewell post. This went alongside Daniel and Macrae's post. Fans did not take kindly to the gratitude shown to Smith with many feeling the club did not read the room. Supporters were resigned to seeing Smith leave and made their feelings known they were already looking forward to start fresh in 2025.

There were a number of other big trades with Jake Stringer joining GWS. Stringer's deal looked to have collapsed, before the Essendon forward joined GWS for pick No.53. Dan Houston was the other major trade with the Port Adelaide star joining Collingwood in a three-club deal on Tuesday.