Pingrup product Belinda Smith set to reach historic 50-game milestone for West Coast Eagles AFLW team

Pingrup’s Belinda Smith will play a historic 50th AFLW game for the West Coast Eagles making her the first player in the club’s short history to reach the major milestone when they tackle heavyweights Brisbane on Sunday. The 29-year-old has been a mainstay in the Eagles’ back half since joining in 2020 and is the club’s games record holder with 49, three more than captain Emma Swanson. The rebounding defender has thrived under new coach Daisy Pearce, averaging more than 10 disposals across their four games this year but it’s the defensive efforts that the hard-nosed Smith has become renowned for. She has been an integral part of the Eagles’ best-ever start to a season and was instrumental down back in their 11-point victory over Western Bulldogs at the weekend and was named in the Eagles’ best and backed up her superb defensive performance again on Tuesday evening in their historic 17-point win over Collingwood. For the first time in their AFLW history, the Eagles won back-to-back games on Tuesday where Smith produced outstanding defensive efforts including an important smother and finished with an equal game-high seven intercepts. Smith started her career as a foundation member of Fremantle after being drafted with the Dockers’ No.100 pick in the inaugural AFLW draft in 2016. She played 12 matches for Fremantle before being delisted at the end of the 2018 season. She was then quickly signed up by the Bulldogs as a free agent where she played three games before moving to the Eagles.