Saturday afternoon will be only the second time Bailey Smith has stepped out onto the hallowed turf at the MCG to compete in an AFL Grand Final.

And he is out to lead his new club, Geelong to flag glory against reigning premiers the Brisbane Lions, with the 24-year-old hungry to win his first-ever premiership title.

It’s been a whirlwind year for the Cats midfielder, who has returned to the AFL after being sidelined for the entire 2024 season with a horror ACL injury.

But a year on and Smith is on the cusp of greatness.

He has already enjoyed a ton of success this year, placing third in this year’s Brownlow Medal count and bagging his first All-Australian blazer.

Bailey Smith has given fans a look inside his locker as the footy star prepares to play for Geelong in this weekend’s AFL Grand Final 

Eagle-eyed fans noticed that the 24-year-old had several motivational notes pasted inside the door of his locker 

The Geelong midfielder has enjoyed a standout season, bouncing back from an injury plagued season in 2024 to help lead Geelong to the AFL Grand Final 

While talk of his rumoured relationship with social media star Tammy Hembrow has dominated the headlines, the footy star appears focused on getting the job done on Saturday and appears to have lifted the lid on how he’s staying motivated to perform at his best.

Smith published a snap of his locker at Geelong’s training ground on Wednesday afternoon.

The door of the locker had been left open and inside the door of the locker and the footy star had pasted several notes and motivational messages on his locker.

‘I am disciplined, I am fearless, I am confident, I am free,’ one note read.

‘I embrace pain, pressure and hardship.’

Several other longer notes were pasted on the inside of the locker but couldn’t be read in the image.

Smith also had a Snoop Dogg jumper hung from the top of his locker, with the US rapper set to feature as the half-time entertainment for this year’s Grand Final.

The image comes as the Geelong star stole the show at the Brownlow Medal awards ceremony on Monday night, showing up to the Crown Palladium wearing a pair of speed dealer glasses.

Smith has made headlines in recent months after rumours emerged that he had been dating social media star Tammy Hembrow 

The footy player denied the speculation around himself and Hembrow, claiming they were ‘just friends’ despite having been seen cosying up together over dinner

Smith stole the show at the Brownlow Medal Awards on Monday night, donning a pair of speed dealer glasses and a brown suit

While Smith has ruffled the feathers of a few, for his ‘flipping the bird’ antics this year, he has been in brilliant form on the footy field

He posed for photos with AFL CEO Andrew Dillon and spoke about how excited he was for this weekend’s Grand Final.

On Tuesday, the 24-year-old took to Instagram to reflect on the past 24 months, posting a video of himself training on his own one evening back in August 2024, while he was recovering from his ACL injury.

He revealed to fans that this was one of the ‘loneliest periods of my life’, reflecting on the mental toll that his injury took on him back in 2024.

‘Seven months, 1 week post ACL surgery. No motivation.’

Heartbreakingly, he delved into that period of his recovery further, making several tough admissions.

‘Every session on my own. *****s writing me off. So much doubt and anxiety about the future.

‘But just kept on swimmin’. Always will. See you Saturday.’

While Smith has ruffled the feathers of a few, for his ‘flipping the bird’ antics this year, he has been in brilliant form on the footy field.

He has averaged a career-high average disposals of 31.4, as well as 110 tackles across 22 games, a career-best figure.