NORTH Warrnambool Eagles product Billie Smedts will start the next chapter of his AFL career at Carlton after he was traded from Geelong on Thursday morning.
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The versatile 24-year-old was part of a deal that saw him, pick 63 and the Cats’ 2017 first-round draft pick go to the Blues in exchange for running defender Zach Tuohy and Carlton’s 2017 second-round pick.
Smedts played 38 games for Geelong in six injury-ravaged years after being taken with pick 15 in the 2010 AFL draft.
He played just one AFL game this year, with a broken leg suffered in the VFL in June throwing another spanner in the works.
He missed all of season 2015 and the start of 2016 after undergoing a shoulder reconstruction, and missed 10 weeks following the fracture.
Smedts also suffered a broken leg in 2014. He missed his entire first season in 2011 with a hip injury and was sidelined for the Cats’ 2012 finals campaign with a hand injury.
Smedts told the Carlton website he was looking forward to the next stage of his journey.
“I sincerely thank Geelong for my time there, but now, I’m excited about a fresh start at the Blues,” he said.
“The club seems to be really building on what they started last year under Brendon Bolton and I’m really looking forward to making the most of this opportunity.”
Carlton general manager of list management and strategy Stephen Silvagni said Smedts would be a “strong and versatile addition to our list”.
I’m excited about a fresh start at the Blues.
- Billie Smedts