After a cameo appearance in 2025, former Western Bulldog Roarke Smith will make Bellarine club Modewarre his permanent home.
The 29-year-old, who is a close friend of Warriors’ captain Morgan Fenton, featured in the win over Queenscliff in Round 4, but spent the remainder of the season with Central Murray club Balaranald.
Smith looms as a more-than-adequate midfield replacement for Josh Finch, who enters a second stint as coach of the club after retiring following a storied, club record 336-game career.
“After a one-off cameo in 2025, Roarke is now joining us full-time, and we couldn’t be more excited,” Modewarre said on social media.
“With his wealth of AFL and VFL playing experience, plus his recent coaching success leading the North Melbourne VFLW team to the 2025 premiership, Roarke brings incredible talent and leadership to our club.”
Taken with pick five in the 2015 Rookie Draft, Smith played 47 games, including the Bulldogs’ grand final loss to Melbourne in 2021, across nine injury-interrupted seasons, where he suffered two ruptured anterior cruciate ligaments and was delisted twice.
After being delisted at the end of 2023, he played VFL with Port Melbourne in 2024 and represented Victoria, with Modewarre serving as his interchange club.
After beating 2025 grand finalist Geelong Amateur in last year’s elimination final, the Warriors finished this season in seventh-place with a 7-11 win-loss record.
X: @krockfootball
