Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge says he doesn't expect anything less from former Bulldog Bailey Smith following his post-match jibe on the weekend.
Smith made a "cheeky" comment toward his former club, jumping at the chance to make a slight dig at his former teammates' match earlier in the day, played at Mars Stadium in front of 4,814, in comparison to the 80,000-plus at the MCG Saturday evening.
Bulldogs skipper Marcus Bontempelli replied, saying, "It'sย nice to know we're still on Bailey's mind".
Beveridge was probed about the now-Geelong speedster and the theatrical antics over the weekend.
"As everyone said, you know, it's interesting theatre, and I think everyone welcomes it," he said on Tuesday.
"I said to our players at the start of the week, let's leave that until we actually played Geelong, because it doesn't matter at the moment. We've got the Suns and then Essendon and then the Cats before the bye.
"There's no real filter with Baz (Smith). You kind of accept that, and I don't think he's going to change.
"He will tell you, 'it's just the way I am. I don't have a filter'. He doesn't try and hide from it.
"I'm not sure whether Geelong are going to like that every week, but it's just the way he rolls."
Smith's teammate Sam De Koning said the club is indifferent to the former's series of reactive moments, and will "support him 100 per cent".
"We know who โBaz' is as a person and as a player, and he adds that little bit of kind of flair, and you don't know what he's going to say," De Koning said.
"So we're not for or against it particularly, but we will support โBaz' 100 per cent, and he's been playing great footy.
"We love him as a person, as a player, and he's part of our team now, so we'll support him 100 per cent.
"We're here to support him, and whatever that means - to help him play good footy and help him play aggressive footy for our team and win the ball back for us - is what we want."
Beveridge was pleased to see Smith playing career-best football after a tumultuous 24 months that ultimately led to his trade request to the Cats.
The 24-year-old has been open about his mental health struggles in the past, while an ACL injury tore down his 2024 campaign, donning the red, white and blue for the last time over 18 months ago.
"He's had some real challenges the two years before he exited our club, and I'm just really rapt he's playing some good footy," his old coach said.
Beveridge also remains relaxed amid the ongoing speculation surrounding his future, with the Bulldogs yet to make a contract call beyond 2025.
The Whitten Oval club sit sixth with a 5-3 record following a 90-point demolition of Port Adelaide, but remarkably had been struck by troublesome injuries to key players in the early stages of the year.
"As far as how long it takes for any definitive call on what happens next year, I'm not anxious about it," Beveridge said.
"We'll keep meeting the figureheads at the football club on a monthly basis and discuss things.
"But things remain the same at the moment, and everything's bubbling along pretty nicely."
A tough task awaits the Bulldogs as they travel to the Top End to take on Gold Coast at TIO Stadium in Darwin.
