As the doorbell rings, the running of small footsteps at full speed toward the front door holds a sense of excitement inside even before you enter the Smith household. The peeping and smiling face of seven-year-old Jacob as he eagerly opens the door, followed closely by Rohan is very welcoming.
The Smith household is very enchanting, friendly, spacious and homey all in one. It’s beautiful landscape garden, the front foyer lined with family photos, the modern day kitchen, well kept bedrooms, relaxing family room and a delightful backyard entertainment area by the pool are sure to entice their guests to keep returning for more.
As he enters his 14th playing season at the Club, Rohan knew that as a young boy he wanted to play football for the Bulldogs when he was older.
“When I was growing up, I lived in Yarraville so I was always close to Whitten Oval. Dad use to take me down to the oval to watch the team train and play. The first Bulldogs players I ever met were Doug Hawkins and Steve McPherson and I could pretty much say that I always wanted to play for the Bulldogs. In fact you could even say that I’m a Bulldog through and through,” said Smith.
Having lived in Williamstown for the past five years, Rohan and Alison have renovated the house along the way to make it their own. Alison believes that although Rohan doesn’t help out much with the household chores and that it is more the kids, you can be sure to find Rohan in the kitchen making the kids lunches in the morning or in the evening cooking his speciality of spaghetti Bolognese or lamb shank soup.
When not at the Club training or playing on match day, Rohan likes to spend time with his family by going along to Keely and Jacob’s many sporting activities of little athletics, auskick or horseriding just to name a few. His love of playing golf and gardening are also high on the agenda and his recent venture into the restaurant business with fellow team-mate Brad Johnson is going extremely well and he encourages all supporters to come for an enjoyable meal when they can. (Rohan and Brad recently opened the restaurant Eastside Brassiere in East Melbourne).
Eight year old Keely is said to be the spitting image of her father when he was younger and the energetic Jacob is sure to follow in his father’s foot steps as he too loves to play sport. The endless chatter of the kid’s questions and Alison checking to see if I needed anything ensures that the Smith family are the perfect and most friendly hosts.
Sure to be around for a few more solid playing years, don’t be surprised if we see Rohan becoming an assistant coach at the Bulldogs or another AFL club as he hopes that life after football will be just that.
“I think I will always be involved in football. I would love to become an assistant coach once I’ve stopped playing. However I will also continue to keep gardening and most importantly live a healthy life with my family as Alison and I watch the kids grow older every day.’ Smith said.
And for all those out there who are wanting to know if the “alleged” tunnel between Rohan’s and Johnno’s (who lives a street away) does exist, it is destined to remain a mystery. Although there was a ‘door’ outside that when asked where it led to, Rohan replied it was a secret. Hmm, those rumours just might be true.
