AS A 17-year-old, Clem Smith starred against players olderthan him and made a name for himself as a rampaging, rough andready-to-rumble small defender.
Smith played atlast year's NAB AFL Under-18 Championships and dominated, and was oneof only two bottom-aged players selected in the 2013 All Australianteam. Even before his draft season – this year – he had achievedplenty.
Returning for WA at this year'scarnival, Smith struggled for consistency and gave away 19 free kicksover six games – the most of any player.
However,despite his struggles there Smith managed to play 10 senior games inthe WAFL for Perth, where he reined in his aggression and performed wellagainst experienced opposition.
Smith has a game-changing streak, which generally comesthrough in his brutal attack on the ball and man. He loves the physicalside of the game, going out of his way to lay a bump, put on a shepherdor strike some fear into an opponent. He certainly has no such fearhimself.
His best footy has come as arebounding, attacking back pocket. He carries with him a rare presencefor a player of his size (177cm, 74kg), and he makes everyone aware thathe's around the ball.
He mixes that with great lateral movement, and he won the agility test at last month's combine (8.09 seconds).
Importantly,Smith has performed very well at senior level in the WAFL, managing tohold down a defensive position and offer strong and smart reboundingprowess. His best footy has tended to come when he's presented with achallenge.
There's a question on Smith's fitness, which was underlined by his testing at the combine.
Hemanaged just an 11.12 beep test and ran 12:12 in the three-kilometretime trial, which obviously will need to lift significantly to excel atthe next level. His kicking can at times be a little untidy, and hisdisposal efficiency was 62 per cent at the under-18 championships.
It's been said a hundred times, but it's a comparison too hard toignore. Smith plays a lot like Byron Pickett in his heyday. He looks forbody contact, tucks the ball under an arm and runs away, and has animpact on the contest.
Smith is likely to fit into the 25-45 section of the draft.
A fascinating draft case. Some in Western Australia think Smith isthe state's most talented prospect, and he has already proved he canplay alongside mature bodies. Build up his endurance and he'll have animpact at the next level.
