Western Bulldogs draftee Clay Smith handed Callan Ward's number

[The Coon Dog]

Glenn McFarlane - Herald Sun - 11 December

http://resources3.news.com.au/images/2011/12/10/1226218/938335-clay-smith.jpg

THE Western Bulldogs are hoping their first round draft pick, Clay Smith, might prove a long-term replacement for Callan Ward, and they've even given him Ward's number to prove it.

The tough Gippsland Power midfielder, taken with the No.17 pick in last month's national draft, has been awarded Ward's former No.14 jumper.

And new teammate Will Minson has even taken to calling Smith "Cement", Ward's nickname before he took up a big offer to join Greater Western Sydney.

Many other Bulldogs have settled on "Cassius" as Smith's nickname - appropriate given his penchant for hard work and grit.

Smith is not fazed by taking on Ward's old number.

Article in full... (http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/western-bulldogs-draftee-clay-smith-handed-callan-wards-number/story-e6frf9jf-1226218942188)

[immortalmike]

To be honest I'm not too happy with all the Ward references and comparisons. It reminds me of a scorned lover trying to make their ex jealous by flaunting new flame. Clay is not and should not be Ward he is his own man and should be able to forge his own path within our footy club without the added pressure and comparisons.

[the banker]

To be honest I'm not too happy with all the Ward references and comparisons. It reminds me of a scorned lover trying to make their ex jealous by flaunting new flame. Clay is not and should not be Ward he is his own man and should be able to forge his own path within our footy club without the added pressure and comparisons.

Agree. I have forgotten Ward. He did not hang around long enough to achieve anything at the club.

[Remi Moses]

To be honest I'm not too happy with all the Ward references and comparisons. It reminds me of a scorned lover trying to make their ex jealous by flaunting new flame. Clay is not and should not be Ward he is his own man and should be able to forge his own path within our footy club without the added pressure and comparisons.

Mountain out of a molehill Mike:rolleyes:Hope he does justice to Darcy and Capt Grona's number. The bloke who wore it after Darcy isn't worth the time of Day

[Remi Moses]

Agree. I have forgotten Ward. He did not hang around long enough to achieve anything at the club.

Hope this doesn't upset cement head's Mummy

[Hotdog60]

When Smith gets his chance on the field and if he does all the right things he'll make the number his own and Ward will be a distant memory.

[Bulldog4life]

Mountain out of a molehill Mike:rolleyes:Hope he does justice to Darcy and Capt Grona's number. The bloke who wore it after Darcy isn't worth the time of Day

Not forgetting Brownlow Medalist John Schultz.:)

[Desipura]

Who is this Ward everyone is speaking of?

[Ghost Dog]

http://images.theage.com.au/2011/12/11/2832988/art-bulldogs-420x0.jpghttp://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/a-couple-of-old-dogs-are-ready-to-learn-new-tricks-20111211-1opo0.html

This bloke who works for Optus...or is it Aldi? Oh is that a footy T-shirt?

Maybe there is another reason these two moved to Sydney?? ^_^ little bit of privacy next to the pool....

Will GWS have a float in this year's Mardi Gras?

[BulldogBelle]

I felt sick reading that.

[Ghost Dog]

I felt sick reading that.

Come on...lighten up will ya. What makes me sick is that sporting fashion disaster. A VCE kid could design a better outfit.

Can't wait for our first game with GWS with Clay Smith toe to toe with..that bloke who left last year...whsshisname? . Battle of the wests!~

[LostDoggy]

Come on...lighten up will ya. What makes me sick is that sporting fashion disaster. A VCE kid could design a better outfit.

Can't wait for our first game with GWS with Clay Smith toe to toe with..that bloke who left last year...whsshisname? . Battle of the wests!~

The good colours were taken. (Red, white and blue)

[immortalmike]

Mountain out of a molehill Mike:rolleyes:Hope he does justice to Darcy and Capt Grona's number. The bloke who wore it after Darcy isn't worth the time of Day

Hey don't get me wrong it's not like I'm threatening a boycot or something stupid like that. It just annoys me that whenever Cassius is mentioned in a news article so is Judas Mcpuffyhair and now we went and specifically gave Clay his old number.

[Ghost Dog]

Hey don't get me wrong it's not like I'm threatening a boycot or something stupid like that. It just annoys me that whenever Cassius is mentioned in a news article so is Judas Mcpuffyhair and now we went and specifically gave Clay his old number.

Cassius....lol lol lol. :D
Love it. Thanks mike.

[boydogs]

Judas Mcpuffyhair

lol :D

[Remi Moses]

Apparently travelling sealed the deal!
Yet this is the same bloke giving a virtuoso performance about family being important in a piece last year. For Christ sake you went for the dough cement head.

[Twodogs]

Mountain out of a molehill Mike:rolleyes:Hope he does justice to Darcy and Capt Grona's number. The bloke who wore it after Darcy isn't worth the time of Day


Not forgetting Brownlow Medalist John Schultz.:)


Scott West wore #14 for the first 5 years of his career too.

[immortalmike]

Cassius....lol lol lol. :D
Love it. Thanks mike.
Can't take credit for that. Apparently a few players have taken to calling him that.


lol :D

That one though was all mine...:D

[LostDoggy]

Hey don't get me wrong it's not like I'm threatening a boycot or something stupid like that. It just annoys me that whenever Cassius is mentioned in a news article so is Judas Mcpuffyhair and now we went and specifically gave Clay his old number.

Oh Yeah - great name so that we can separate the two Judas' or do you have an extension name for NB as well?

[LostDoggy]

Surprised someone hasn't pulled the racist card considering that Cassius Clay is obviously a direct reference to Muhammed Alis' slave name.

[Bulldog Joe]

..... Judas Mcpuffyhair .....



lol :D

Agree that the Judas reference is just magnificent.

[immortalmike]

Oh Yeah - great name so that we can separate the two Judas' or do you have an extension name for NB as well?

How about Judas Effeminate, Judas Mcnofinals, or Legbroke Notackle.

[LostDoggy]

Surprised someone hasn't pulled the racist card considering that Cassius Clay is obviously a direct reference to Muhammed Alis' slave name.

Wow. I've drawn some long bows before but that's a beauty.

[LostDoggy]

Wow. I've drawn some long bows before but that's a beauty.

That's what most of the do-gooders do BAS ;)

[Cyberdoggie]

To be honest I'm not too happy with all the Ward references and comparisons. It reminds me of a scorned lover trying to make their ex jealous by flaunting new flame. Clay is not and should not be Ward he is his own man and should be able to forge his own path within our footy club without the added pressure and comparisons.

Same, I think it's a little beneath us to behave this way. Ward has gone and it's sad but i'm over it now and rather than tag the kid Ward version 2, let him forge his own destiny.

Smith should of taken the nubmer 8, which is a number that is steeped in real hard man history.

[Remi Moses]

That's what most of the do-gooders do BAS ;)

So I take it your a do badder then?The great Cassius Clay the man who won a gold for his country then was told he couldn't enter a pub because of the color of his skin.Personally would think nobody would take any offense at Clay being nicknamed Cassius.

[w3design]

The good colours were taken. (Red, white and blue)

The best colours

[LostDoggy]

http://images.theage.com.au/2011/12/11/2832988/art-bulldogs-420x0.jpghttp://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/a-couple-of-old-dogs-are-ready-to-learn-new-tricks-20111211-1opo0.html

This bloke who works for Optus...or is it Aldi? Oh is that a footy T-shirt?

Maybe there is another reason these two moved to Sydney?? ^_^ little bit of privacy next to the pool....

Will GWS have a float in this year's Mardi Gras?

As a past Player Sponsor of Sam whatever his name was, I'd just like to say my #11 jumper is gathering mothballs and when the new jumper arrives it will be a #32 in honour of my Sponsored boy Michael (Gena) Talia. Hey I didn't give him the nickname. I was gonna call him EmTee oops I ment MT

[westdog54]

Surprised someone hasn't pulled the racist card considering that Cassius Clay is obviously a direct reference to Muhammed Alis' slave name.

In fairness the name change was more to do with a conversion to Islam than a rejection of a slave name.

[Remi Moses]

As a past Player Sponsor of Sam whatever his name was, I'd just like to say my #11 jumper is gathering mothballs and when the new jumper arrives it will be a #32 in honour of my Sponsored boy Michael (Gena) Talia. Hey I didn't give him the nickname. I was gonna call him EmTee oops I ment MT

Gena, that made me chuckle. Hopefully the next occupier of 11 has more luck than Sam!
Hopefully a better kick as well

[azabob]

As a past Player Sponsor of Sam whatever his name was, I'd just like to say my #11 jumper is gathering mothballs and when the new jumper arrives it will be a #32 in honour of my Sponsored boy Michael (Gena) Talia. Hey I didn't give him the nickname. I was gonna call him EmTee oops I ment MT

In Reid's defence he most likely was going to be delisted!

[LostDoggy]

In Reid's defence he most likely was going to be delisted!

Aza, he was virtually. Unfortunate for him. I thought he had a lot of potential, hence I sponsored him. However is it a picture of The Callan Reid new Love Shack????? :rolleyes:

[Ghost Dog]

this headline annoys me. It's not Callan Ward's number. The number belongs to a group and a club.

[GVGjr]

this headline annoys me. It's not Callan Ward's number. The number belongs to a group and a club.

I agree. It sounds a little like we are living in the past not moving forward. It might be different if it was the number of a recent retiree but not someone who moved on to greener pastures.

Clay Smith got the number 14 and that's all we needed to know.

[hujsh]

this headline annoys me. It's not Callan Ward's number. The number belongs to a group and a club.

It would be like saying that Wallis got Everitt's number 3 jumper. It is also Luke's jumper more than Ward's.

[LostDoggy]

Agree with the last few posts. Enough with the references to Ward already. It's not as if he was this amazing star either, or that he's leaving that big a hole in our list -- the kid played a few good games, then left for the money. Continually referring to losing him makes us look pathetic, like it was such a massive loss that would have crippled our club if we didn't do something about it. FFS, he's not freakin' EJ.

[azabob]

The only time I've heard recruiting staff and coaches compare Smith to Ward was the day of the draft and perhaps a few snippets here and there afterwards.

Majority of the comparisons are media driven, like the majority of topics football related or not.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Agree with the last few posts. Enough with the references to Ward already. It's not as if he was this amazing star either, or that he's leaving that big a hole in our list -- the kid played a few good games, then left for the money. Continually referring to losing him makes us look pathetic, like it was such a massive loss that would have crippled our club if we didn't do something about it. FFS, he's not freakin' EJ.

This.

Ward is a good player, but no more. His attack on the contest was first rate, and he had clean disposal, but he didn't get enough of the ball and was very poor in terms of defensive accountability.

It was disappointing to lose him, but he's not an A grade player.

[Remi Moses]

Probably done to appease some supporters who think losing cement head was the end of the world. A midfielder like Ward can be replaced in a year or so, whereas losing a KP player can be very harmful for a long period.Hence why Sam Reid ( Sydney's Reid) was signed for a long period.

[Remi Moses]

Hate to be a spoil sport.
Got the news that cement head's mum is teaching my daughter next year!
Needless to say when my little one sticks her hand up and says her favourite player is Clay Smith Ms Ward will know Mr Moses was none to happy about her son's career choice.

[LostDoggy]

Hate to be a spoil sport.
Got the news that cement head's mum is teaching my daughter next year!
Needless to say when my little one sticks her hand up and says her favourite player is Clay Smith Ms Ward will know Mr Moses was none to happy about her son's career choice.

She teaching media studies?

[Remi Moses]

Hope she's not teaching Tactfulness ( such a word?)

[Dancin' Douggy]

Tact

[1eyedog]

What! Is Clay Smith of African descent?

I think we are better than that here.

[Dancin' Douggy]

What! Is Clay Smith of African descent?

I think we are better than that here.

Ummmmmmmmm.......what?

[Bulldog4life]

What! Is Clay Smith of African descent?

I think we are better than that here.

I read that the nickname Cassius was given to Smithy by the players.

[ledge]

Whats wrong with naming him Cassius after the greatest boxer of all time?
I would love it if it were me.

[hujsh]

Don't see any problem with the nickname. So what if he changed his name when he converted to Islam that doesn't make any reference to Ali's past racist.

[AndrewP6]

What! Is Clay Smith of African descent?

I think we are better than that here.

I think you've read too much into it. Footy players are a simple lot. Basic word association gives many their nickname.

[Ghost Dog]

I laughed when I heard the nick. So funny. I'd be chuffed if my moniker was after the greatest boxer of all time.

[G-Mo77]

Don't see any problem with the nickname. So what if he changed his name when he converted to Islam that doesn't make any reference to Ali's past racist.

His Momma called him Clay, I'm gonna call him Clay. :D

qWvDao-MpOk