The wise words of a former Hawks assistant have been put in to practice by Isaac Smith this season as he’s increasingly dealt with an opposition tag.
Smith, who’s averaged close to 23 disposals so far in 2018, has been closely checked at different stages throughout the year but says the attention has being something he’s surprisingly managed to enjoy – a piece of advice offered to him by current Carlton coach Brendan Bolton during his early years at the club.
“It doesn’t worry me, I actually enjoy the challenge of being tagged and getting to talk a bit of dribble and stir some people up,” Smith told RSN on Wednesday morning.
“I remember my first year or two he (Bolton) always mentioned to me it’s a compliment when you get tagged, so if someone comes to you, enjoy it.
“So I just take that approach to it and really enjoy the fact that the opposition are talking about me during the week and that they think you can do some damage.”
Bolton himself sent experienced tagger Ed Curnow to Smith in the Hawks’ Round 18 win over the Blues, keeping him to a modest 18 disposals, while the Dockers also put plenty of time into the wingman on the weekend as he managed 22 disposals.
“I think earlier in the year I probably had a bit of focus on me and then in the middle of the year probably got off the leash a little bit and now it’s come back a bit,” Smith said.
“But really if I’m getting tagged and we’re winning games of footy – especially the way we have the last few weeks then it doesn’t really worry me.”
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