For months we’ve wondered what was going on with Morgan Smithies. Now we have our answer, with reports that Smithies will join Perth on a three-year deal from next season.
It ends a short Canberra stay for Smithies. He came to the club in 2024 and had his best season then, doing a slightly dour impression of Corey Horsburgh’s role – big minutes, big tackles, a bit of passing. Before that season his passing game had been talked up, but it felt like something the club was trying to talk into existence, rather than something he demonstrated.
He never quite found that capability consistently. He never found that power. Even in big minutes he didn’t break tackles (144th in the competition in tackle breaks in 2024), or make big metres. In 2025 as the Raiders thrived, he was relied on less. His output, his performance, and his minutes have dwindled. This season Jayden Brailey and Daine Laurie have been preferred in the middle to him. That is not good.
You might wonder if more opportunity might have resulted in greater development. This shift will give him security in longevity, presumably more money that he would have gotten at Canberra, and unquestionably a bigger role. As a player whose main offering is that he can get through big minutes of middle work at a reasonable output, it’s the perfect place for him.
This is not a loss for Canberra in the way that other players leaving might. Smithies is no high-end talent. He’s not demonstrated the consistent power to be a dominant middle, nor the footwork, nor the agility. Even playing big minutes in 2024, he still only averaged 89 metres a game. That’s not to say he’s a poor footballer. Rather he’s fine. Perth need fine to make sure they can compete. Canberra need more than that to make sure they can excel.
If losing Smithies is a problem, it’s more in the ‘canary in the coal mine’ aspect. Canberra have had an axe taken to their middle depth in recent years. Smithies and Jake Clydsdale are reportedly leaving. Ata Mariota is off contract. Corey Horsburgh is rumoured to be searching for options too, and Josh Papalii will be retiring at the end of the season. Without players coming in, Canberra can ill afford to be letting middle forwards go. Smithies may not be the high-end player that we want, but he’s literally better than nothing.
Another aspect to this is the fact that the reporting of late last year and earlier this had made it seem like a deal was done. Then the trail went quiet. As we’ve noted, the same process has played out with Ata Mariota. They have the same manager, and while we thought deals were practically done with both, we now have deals with neither.
One might hand-wave losing Smithies in this way, but I would not be so calm about Mariota. He’s not proven himself the elite forward we believe he can be, but every time he starts, we get a bit more insight, a bit more proof, that excellence is not beyond his reach. If he were to sign for another team it would be frustrating. While I’d not really countenanced the possibility before now, the fact that he’s on the same pathway, with the same manager, as Smithies, makes me far more nervous.
And that’s the rub. I met losing Smithies with a shrug and immediately started thinking about Mariota. Smithies had moments in green. But too often they were ones like last Saturday, when Ethan Roberts stormed through an exhausted Morgan on the goal-line. When your pitch is that you tie-up the middle defence, that can’t be happening.
And maybe it won’t in Perth. Morgan is young, talented, and could pair a bigger passing role with a complementary high-volume defence. He did make 900 tackles in 2024. Good middles don’t hit their prime until their mid-to-late 20s, and Smithies will turn 26 before next season. With additional minutes and responsibility he could thrive.
But if he does, I won’t think ‘what could have been’. In his time at Canberra Smithies hasn’t shown that he was ready to be the starter Perth will be paying him to be. He was a decent footballer. An honest one. But Canberra’s success in the coming years won’t be determined by the presence, or otherwise, of Morgan Smithies.
The Sportress is transitioning away from Facebook and Twitter for distribution so sign up to the email below and you can dance if you want to. Don’t hesitate to send us feedback (dan@sportress.org) or comment below if you think we are stupid. Or if we’re not.
The Sportress 
Leave a comment