Beloved skipper Joel Selwood is set to break the record most AFL/VFL finals matches played, surpassing Hawthorn great Michael Tuck's 39-final standard. Patrick Dangerfield famously returned home from a stint with Adelaide Crows 10 years ago in the hope to win an AFL flag with the Cats - and the last time the Cats tasted the ultimate glory was weeks before Danger's much-heralded arrival.

But Ballarat should want the Cats to win the premiership for Isaac Smith.

We do have other awesome Ballarat stories out on the field.

Sydney Swan Jake Lloyd moved to Ballarat from Horsham 10 years ago, as an 18-year-old, to be closer to the then-North Ballarat Rebels' TAC Cup hub at Northern Oval. This helped launch his career with Sydney in 2014, a season in which Lloyd made his AFL Grand Final debut in a loss to Hawthorn.

Lloyd also played in the Swans' 2016 AFL Grand Final loss to Western Bulldogs. This match could be his third-time lucky - if one believes in luck when it comes to sport.

Cats' power forward Jeremy Cameron was plucked from Dartmoor in Victoria's far south-west, deep in Rebels' territory, and recruited as a 17-year-old to Greater Western Sydney's inaugural team for 2011 - a year before the Giants joined the AFL.

Cameron became one of the league's highest paid forwards by the age of 21 and helped lead the Giants to the club's first AFL Grand Final, a loss to Richmond in 2019.

Smith's much celebrated football story fittingly needs his golden touch to work with the Cats, a club he joined with Cameron last season.

Arriving in Ballarat for university studies, Smith had made the move to Victoria from Cootamundra to play the game he loved in a state where there was greater love for the game.

Smith fast made a name for himself with his athletic style with Redan, particularly in the Lions' 2009 premiership season.

At the repeated urging of Lions' coaches, Smith left his mates midway through the 2010 season to push his game in the Victorian Football League. It only took a couple of matches for Smith in North Ballarat Roosters' reserves before he was called into the seniors and fast-tracked into the Roosters' VFL premiership team.

From there, Smith was drafted to Hawthorn.

Smith's pathway was part of a new trend at the time with AFL clubs increasingly turning to state leagues, like the VFL, for ready-made players as new franchises GWS and Gold Coast Suns built up their ranks.

Smith became a triple-AFL premiership player with the Hawks, winning flags from 2013-15.

A flag with the Cats is about more than adding another medallion to Smith's collection. This would be a win for Ballarat, in particular Redan. While Smith's path was unusual it continues to reinforce the important role grassroots clubs can make in challenging players to think bigger.

As clubs remain rebuilding from the pandemic, we need that reminder.

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