His high leaping play enabled him to hold down a key position whilst being only 184 cm[1] and is sometimes compared to Russell Robertson.
Smith debuted with the North Melbourne Football Club in 1987 and was delisted due to a string of injuries at the end of 1992 after 47 games and 38 goals.[1]
He played for Werribee in 1994, and had a dominant season there. He was one of the Association's leading goalkickers for the season, finished third in the J. J. Liston Trophy count,[2] and continued his reputation for taking high marks.[3] He was consequently recruited back to the AFL by Melbourne for the 1995 season.
His 1995 Mark of the Year, a chest mark over teammate Garry Lyon in the goal square against the Brisbane Bears at the Gabba, was named the Mark of the Century, superseding Gary Ablett Sr's famous, though controversial, mark a year earlier.[1] In the same year, he managed an AFL-career-best 51 goals.
Injury plagued the rest of his career at the Demons until he was finally delisted in 1998,[1] finishing his career at the Werribee Football Club in 2004.
Shaun's son Joel was signed by the Demons for the 2016 season as a Category B rookie under the father–son rule,[4] and his daughter Amy is currently listed with North Melbourne in the AFLW, recruited in 2020 as the club's first father–daughter pick.[5]
References
^ abcdefHolmesby, Russell; Main, Jim (2003). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers: every AFL/VFL player since 1897 (5th ed.). North Melbourne, Victoria: Crown Content. p. 678. ISBN1-74095-032-1.
^"Liston win". Herald Sun (Morning ed.). Melbourne, VIC. 1 September 1994. p. 85.
^Stewart Oldfield (16 May 1994). "Spearhead brings Box Hill to earth". The Age. Melbourne, VIC. p. 32.
Australian Amateurs 14.12 (96) defeated Australian Capital Territory 12.11 (83), at Football Park, 2 March 1988
Victoria (VFA) 18.20 (128) defeated Australian Capital Territory 9.16 (70), at Norwood Oval, 4 March 1988