Smith was a late comer to VFL football as he had spent eight years at East Perth before joining North Melbourne.
He was a member of East Perth's 1972 and 1978 premiership teams[2] and a back pocket player in the North Melbourne side which lost the 1974 VFL Grand Final.
His stint in Victoria lasted just two seasons and in 1976 he returned to East Perth and ended up with 222 WANFL games.
Despite a successful first year as coach, the 1980 season was a struggle and East Fremantle only narrowly avoided the wooden spoon.
[5] In 2006 Smith was named on the interchange bench in East Perth's official 'Post-war Team of the Century' (1945 to 2005).