Ashley Smith is an Australian rules football

Australian rules football

Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...

er with the West Coast Eagles

West Coast Eagles

The West Coast Eagles are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League. The club is based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 and played its first games in the 1987 season. Its current home ground is Subiaco Oval...

 in the Australian Football League

Australian Football League

The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...

.

Football career

Ashley Smith was accepted into the AIS-AFL Academy before playing for Vic Metro in the National Under-18 Championships

AFL National Under 18 Championships

The NAB AFL Under 18 Championships are the annual national Australian rules football championships for players aged 18 years or younger. The competition is seen as one of the main pathways towards being drafted into a team in the fully professional Australian Football League...

. He then represented the Dandenong Stingrays

Dandenong Stingrays

The Dandenong Stingrays are an Australian rules football team in a Victorian under 18s league called the TAC Cup.1992 saw the birth of the ‘Southern Stingrays’ and they were developed under the leadership of Steve Kennedy and Ron Roach with the home base located at the Ben Kavanagh Reserve,...

 in the TAC Cup

TAC Cup

The TAC Cup is an under 18 Australian rules football representative competition held in Victoria, Australia. It is based on geographic regions throughout country Victoria and metropolitan Melbourne with each team representing 12 Victorian regions....

, missing most of the first part of the season before starring in the second half, including the preliminary final.

At the 2008 AFL Draft Camp, Smith impressed talent scouts with his speed and long-kicking abilities, placing first in the 20 metre sprint, sixth in the 30 metre repeat sprints, and tenth in the standing vertical jump, and consistently kicking over 50 metres. Smith was selected by West Coast with Pick 36 in the 2008 AFL Draft

2008 AFL Draft

The 2008 AFL Draft consisted of four opportunities for player acquisitions during the 2008/09 Australian Football League off-season. These were Trade Week , the National Draft , the Pre-Season Draft and the Rookie Draft...

, after being predicted to go as high as the first round.

He made his debut for West Coast in Round 15 against Adelaide

Adelaide Crows

The Adelaide Football Club, nicknamed The Crows, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Adelaide, South Australia, playing in the Australian Football League ....

 at Subiaco Oval

Subiaco Oval

Subiaco Oval , known colloquially as Subi, is the highest capacity sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia...

, gaining 19 disposals and 4 marks off the half-back flank, and scoring a goal from 55 metres out. Since then he has not missed a game, averaging 15 possessions a game and impressing coaching staff with his football skills and pace.

External links

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cC4i0HCunE4&feature=player_embedded#