The Dunedin City Royals midfielder has been a stalwart of the game across the region and played her part in plenty of Kate Sheppard Cup playoffs.
She even won the Maia Jackman Trophy for player of the final when Dunedin Technical won the cup in 2018.
With even more experience under her belt, Smith will line up for the Royals in their semifinal against Western Springs at Tahuna Park tomorrow.
"Really, really excited for it," Smith said.
"It’s been a while since we’ve had this kind of big game, especially having one at home."
The 27-year-old has been in and out of the Royals in recent years as she balances her career with the police, but she has still had plenty of knowledge to pass on.
Smith scored a stunner from a corner in the quarterfinal against Cashmere Technical to send the Royals into the semifinals, and she was intrigued to see how the Royals matched up against a big Auckland team.
"When you compare yourself to some of the Auckland teams, you know, they’ve got a lot of New Zealand representatives and huge amount of depth.
"For us, obviously it’s little old Dunedin, so we just rely on a really, really good team culture and I guess gelling as a team, and just having fun."
But "little old Dunedin" always punched above its weight, and an influx of youth, and new players, stepped in to "fill the gaps" in the Royals.
It created healthy competition among the squad and she was proud to see the way her younger team-mates had developed — even if they did "keep me on my toes".
"It’s just really, really cool to see because, some of them, I feel like I’m just about double their age.
"It’s cool to see them stepping up and I guess being able to be in that position I was however many years ago when I first started my journey into football."
That team culture on and off the field has certainly worked for the Royals and will be key at Tahuna Park tomorrow.
Western Springs have had a good season so far to make the semifinal.
But Smith said she still felt they were relatively unknown and that was how she preferred it.
"Any Auckland team is always a strong team. Any time we’ve ever played them up there, it’s been a hell of a ride.
"I don’t know too much about them and I try not to read into it.
"For me, a game’s a game. If we just bring our all, and play as hard as we can, we can usually turn over some of these top teams."
