Adelaide veteran Brodie Smith has hit back at social media reaction to his omission from the Crows team to face Sydney on Saturday.

The 259-game veteran has faced heated calls from supporters to face the axe throughout the season, with criticism on his kicking and defensive efforts amid the Crows’ poor start to 2024.

Fans got their wish with Smith dropped for the upcoming clash with the ladder-leading Swans at the Adelaide Oval, but the 32-year old believes their reaction has been disrespectful to a long-term stalwart of the club.

“It’s almost being celebrated on social media which does hurt,” Smith told 10 News Adelaide of his axing.

“I’m only out there trying to do my best and help these young guys out.

“To see some of the stuff online… some of it’s almost getting a bit hateful, which is sad to see.

“The frustrations only at myself… I’ve been okay but I’m not impacting games the way I want to.

“The team hasn’t been where we want it to be. As a leader you want to step up and help drive [improvement] – unfortunately I haven’t been doing that.”

Smith has missed just five games since the start of 2019.

Pies ‘gettable’, says emerging Roo

Fresh off a drought-breaking win over West Coast, North Melbourne defender Charlie Comben says the Kangaroos are eyeing off a major scalp when they face reigning premiers Collingwood on Sunday.

The Roos sit last on the ladder despite their first win of the season against the Eagles at Optus Stadium last week, and are heavily expected to be no match for the in-form Magpies despite a series of big names missing through injury.

However, Comben, who has emerged as a shining light in the Roos’ backline in 2024, begs to differ.

“I think it’s [the Eagles win] going to carry a lot of confidence into this week,” Comben said on SEN Breakfast.

“We traditionally play quite well against Collingwood in the last three years. They’ve got a few injuries and whatnot, so I feel like they’re really, really gettable for us this week.

“All the boys will go into the game really genuinely believing we can win, which I think will be huge for how we’re going to play on the weekend.”

The underdogs’ task will be made tougher by Magpies star Nick Daicos’ confirmed fitness for the match, having been subbed out of their King’s Birthday win over Melbourne with a corked shin.

Since the start of 2020, the Kangaroos have won just 13 of their 96 AFL matches, one of the worst records in league history.

They have lost their last four matches against the Magpies, but haven’t been thrashed in any, including a heartbreaking seven-point loss in 2022 that proved to be former coach David Noble’s last game at the helm before being sacked.

Hawks embrace ‘villain’ status ahead of Dusty’s 300th

Dustin Martin will lick his lips at the familiar sight.

A heaving MCG, with all eyes on him – this is his stage.

And while there’s no premiership or Norm Smith Medal on offer this time, Richmond’s modern-day superhero will relish the chance to put on a show for his legion of fans to mark his latest milestone.

“We’re looking forward to it. It’s a massive game for him,” Tigers coach Adem Yze said ahead of Martin’s 300th AFL game, against Hawthorn on Saturday.

“His whole focus will be around performance and trying to get a win for the Tiger Army, and we will be trying to do the same thing for him.”

Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell is preparing his team to play the role of “villains” and spoil Martin’s party.

The Hawks are warm favourites, having won five of their past six matches, but are wary of an injury-hit Richmond outfit that still boasts plenty of big-game experience.

“Probably half their side are premiership teammates of Dusty so it’s going to be a big challenge for us,” Mitchell said.

“There’s the two hours of the actual game and there’s the event that goes on around it, which we’ve got no control over.

“The only thing that we’re focused on is making sure that we play the game in the manner that we need to to get the win.”

For the record, Richmond have picked a dozen premiership players, including the return of Martin from a week’s rest and key forward Tom Lynch after a long lay-off with a hamstring injury.

The pair replace fellow flag hero Dion Prestia (calf) and Samson Ryan (ankle).

Hawthorn ruckman Lloyd Meek returns from a syndesmosis injury, replacing Ned Reeves (back spasms) for a battle against Tigers captain Toby Nankervis.

Nick Watson is also back for the Hawks, with Seamus Mitchell dropped.

While the form book has second-from-bottom Richmond (2-11) as outsiders against a rising Hawthorn (6-7) side, there’s no telling what emotional lift the Tigers’ will get from Martin’s big occasion.

Yze has witnessed a “good energy” about his side over the last three weeks, which included a breakthrough interstate victory over Adelaide last time out.

It snapped a run of eight consecutive defeats.

“We felt like we turned a corner and we’ve had a consistent performance for the last three or four weeks, but we just haven’t got across the line,” the first-year coach said.

“We hadn’t executed for four quarters, but last weekend we did.

“After a win it’s high energy but it was back to work on Monday and we’re looking forward to playing against a really good team.”