Western Bulldogs young-gun Clay Smith has signed a one-year contract extension with the Club, securing his future at the Whitten Oval through until the end of 2014.
Joining Mitch Wallis and Luke Dahlhaus as emerging talents to have recently penned new deals with the Dogs, 19 year-old Smith has shown he'll play a large part in the Club's future after suiting up for the club on 16 occasions in his debut year.
Watch Clay Smith speak to BulldogsTV about his new deal with the Bulldogs on the media player above.
"They came to me a couple of weeks ago and said 'we'd be happy to extend you another year,'" Smith told westernbulldogs.com.au
"I was stoked, I want to stay here the whole time I play football.
"I'd like to be a one club player and stay here, but you just take it as it goes and as long as they want to keep me I'm happy to stay."
Recruited from the Gippsland Power with the Bulldogs' first round pick in the 2011 AFL National Draft, Smith has grown a reputation as a fierce competitor in the senior ranks, after bursting onto the scene with an eye catching four goals on debut against West Coast in the Dogs' season opener at Etihad Stadium.
Missing a handful of games in the first half of the year, Smith returned after the mid-season break to cement a place in the Bulldogs side, playing all but one of the Club's final 12 games. A feat Smith wasn't sure he'd achieve in his debut season.
"Obviously coming to an AFL club and just being one of the young 18-year-olds, you get there and hope to play a few games, see what it's like and see that you're up to it.
"I was lucky enough to play 16 games, keep a regular spot and play some alright footy and do my bit for the team, so I was really happy with my year."
With the Bulldogs' season over, Smith has found a moment to reflect on his first year at Whitten Oval. However the tenacious teenager admits there won't be too much time to rest before he gets back to business and the start of his first full pre-season at the Kennel.
"We've got a six week break, but training starts straight away, around mid-September.
"[We'll get] right back into it and come back fit and raring to go."
Watch an extended interview with Clay Smith about his debut year at the Dogs on BulldogsTV.
