50th AFLW game for West Coast Eagles a childhood dream come true for Pingrup footy star Belinda Smith

Pingrup product Belinda Smith said it was a dream come true after playing 50 AFLW games for the West Coast Eagles, the first player at the club to reach the milestone. The hard-nosed defender created Eagles history with the 50-game mark and her teammates were quick to celebrate her achievement by all wearing custom-made t-shirts last week at training and in the warm-up. However it wasn’t the fairytale ending the 29-year-old was hoping for, Brisbane cutting their celebrations short with a dominant 8.13 (61) to 2.4 (16) victory on Sunday. Smith gathered 10 disposals in a tough outing but said she was enormously proud of the historic milestone. “Yeah definitely (proud to play 50 games),” she told West Coast media. “It was a childhood dream growing up and I’m stoked to be able to play 50 games for the club I supported and I love the girls and getting out there 50 times is something I’m pretty proud of.” The humble defender said while she doesn’t typically focus on the hype surrounding her individual accolades, it was nice to share the moment with her friends and family. “I usually make (my friends and family) sort (tickets) out themselves because I’m usually laid back with that kind of stuff but I did get them a few wrist bands so I could see them after the game, which was good,” she said. “Everyone got around the team shirts which was a bit of a shock — they’re pretty funny.” Smith joined the Eagles in 2020 and has played 65 AFLW games since her career began in 2017. She played 12 matches for Fremantle before three games with Western Bulldogs in 2019.