His outstanding finals campaign helped pave the way for the Western Bulldogs' fairytale AFL premiership triumph but suddenly, Clay Smith has found himself on the outer.
The tough small forward is a shock omission, alongside rookie midfielder Josh Dunkley, for the Bulldogs' round one clash with Collingwood at the MCG on Friday night.
They are among five players to make way from the side that defeated Sydney in last year's grand final, with Joel Hamling (traded), Jordan Roughead (hamstring) and Tory Dickson (groin) automatic exclusions.
Returning skipper Bob Murphy, Matthew Suckling, Travis Cloke, Stewart Crameri and Lin Jong have been added in their place, and few would argue with the quality of those inclusions.
But Smith can count himself desperately unlucky to miss out after booting eight goals and laying 38 tackles during the finals.
The 23-year-old was relatively quiet during the grand final as the Bulldogs broke their 62-year premiership drought.
But he was outstanding a week earlier against Greater Western Sydney, booting four majors, and personified the manic pressure that allowed the Bulldogs to steamroll West Coast on their home turf in week one of the finals.
For coach Luke Beveridge, Smith's omission may simply be a sign of the Bulldogs' growing depth.
Beveridge on Thursday stressed the need to move on from last year's triumph and focus on the present, to the extent that he was putting more faith in the Bulldogs' pre-season matches than the grand final.
"All coaches and managers have a sense of loyalty and a pretty vivid memory of the recent past," he said.
"There's going to be one or two players miss out that played in last year's premiership side. That's a difficult conversation to have.
"But we're focused on this year, we've picked our side based on what's transpired in the pre-season and that's always the way its got to be."
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