West Coast Eagles defender Belinda Smith only wanted to play AFLW finals for one club, despite the hard road

Sporting fairytales don’t get much better than when a loyal servant fights through lean years and then gets to create history. For West Coast defender Belinda Smith, her dedication to the club through lean years will pay massive dividends on Saturday when she plays her 75th game in the Eagles’ first ever final. Playing 75 games is tough in the shorter AFLW seasons. It’s taken Smith 10 seasons, after starting her career at Fremantle and then playing for the Westerm Bulldogs. But when you compare her career to the three other women who will hit the 75-game milestone this weekend, you get an incredible insight into how patient she’s been prepared to be. Adelaide’s Chelsea Biddell is also preparing for her 75th game this week. She has won 50 matches and played in a premiership. Brisbane pair Courtney Hodder and Taylor Smith have 58 victories and two flags each as they approach the same milestone. But Smith had no interest in chasing success elsewhere. Being an Eagle meant something to her. And being part of West Coast’s first finals campaign was the only lure she needed to keep believing and keep chasing success. “Once I got to West Coast, I was all-in. I knew this was where I wanted to finish my career and I wanted to get to finals with this group,” Smith told The West Australian. “I always had a lot of faith in this group. Being a young side, i knew it would take a few years to develop. It’s definitely paid off. “For a long time, we weren’t necessarily about wins. We were chasing improvement and development. Whether that was winning quarters or improving our contested ball or improving the way we used the ball, we were chasing those types of things for a long time. “Now we’ve progressed to the point where in every single game we play, we believe we can win it. We have proven this year that we can beat good teams and we can come from behind. It’s so good to now be reaping the rewards and getting to sing the song a few more times. “I love these girls so much. You could never question our connection. Once we got young girls with talent through the door it was just a matter of us developing it.” But like all fairytales, there was a dramatic twist to Smith’s story this year. The 30-year-old endured a frustrating season after twice injuring her hamstring and playing only four matches. But the club targeted last weekend’s match against Carlton for her to be fit, and she worked relentlessly to heal and strengthen her body to give herself the best chance of playing finals. Saturday’s elimination final at Ikon Park will be even more unique because West Coast and Carlton played on Friday night. Rather than feeling daunted by having to find a way to turn around the 20-point defeat in just eight days, Smith believes her team will enter the clash with an advantage gained by seeing how the Blues beat them. “I am so confident about us playing against Carlton,” she said. “I feel like we now have a way better understanding of what our undoing was, how we can get after them and right our wrongs. We will also go after what we do really well as a team. I’m really confident we can get the win. “It’s fun to immediately have that opportunity for redemption. We took a lot of learnings from that game and will unpack it more this week. “It is anyone’s game. We will really get after them and I’m sure it will be a cracking game.” PATIENCE REWARDED 75th game milestones this weekend Courtney Hodder (Brisbane) 58 career wins. 13 finals. 2 premierships. Taylor Smith (Brisbane) 58 career wins. 13 finals. 2 premierships. Chelsea Biddell (Adelaide) 50 career wins. 11 finals. 1 premiership Belinda Smith (West Coast) 19 career wins.