Essendon veteran Devon Smith has announced his retirement from the AFL.
Smith, who has a year remaining on his current contract, has not featured for the Bombers since Round 11 due to form and injury.
The 29-year-old has battled a knee injury this season, adding to a difficult past few years at Tullamarine due to several other setbacks.
Smith has featured in just the eight games this season after facing questions over his form in the opening half of the year.
Essendon and Smith have reached an agreement to part ways a year prior to his contract's expiry, with the latter confirming the news on Friday.
“While it wasn’t an easy decision to come to, unfortunately I couldn’t quite get the body to where it needed to be to perform week-in and week-out,” Smith said in a club statement.
“I’ve loved my AFL journey and I’ve had the true privilege of representing two fantastic football clubs.
“I want to thank all my past and present teammates for all their support across the journey. As players, your time in the AFL goes by so quickly and my message to them this morning was that they shouldn’t lose sight of the fact it is a privilege to run out with your best mates every week. I’ll miss that the most.
“I wish everyone the best for the journey ahead and I look forward to watching the boys on next season with a beer in hand.”
The decision will see Smith end his AFL career after 182 games, spanning across stints with GWS and the Bombers.
Smith was drafted to the Giants as the 14th overall selection in the 2011 National Draft, becoming a member of the club's inaugural squad.
He played 109 games with the New South Wales side before making a return to Victoria at the end of the 2017 season in a move to Essendon.
Smith won best and fairest honours in his maiden campaign with the Bombers, emerging as one of the competition's best pressure forwards.
From there, injuries and form have riddled his tenure in the red sash, failing to play more than 20 games in any season since.
