Bailey Smith deletes provocative Charlie Curnow post during Geelong’s Mad Monday celebrations

Geelong midfielder Bailey Smith has deleted an eyebrow-raising Instagram post about in-demand Carlton forward Charlie Curnow.

Curnow is seeking a move away from the Blues and, with family ties on the surf coast, would prefer Geelong to be his next AFL home.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Cats poke fun at fans with Mad Monday costumes.

The Cats are the frontrunners for the two-time Coleman medallist, but Sydney and Gold Coast both have interest and are not without a chance.

At Geelong’s Mad Monday celebrations, two days after their grand final defeat to Brisbane, Smith quickly back-pedaled when he realised he got a bit too cheeky on his Instagram stories.

After a series of photos and videos of his teammates’ dress-ups, Smith shared re-shared a 7AFL post of Ollie Dempsey and Sam De Koning, who turned up in an Aston Martin with several brown paper bags and fake Cotton On sponsorship branding.

“We’re taking the chopper in next year @charliecurnow,” Smith wrote alongside the post, before taking it down minutes later.

Smith also deleted a post involving Max Holmes dressed up as Caroline Wilson, which was captioned: “Caro has never looked better.” It also had a photo of Wilson inserted at the bottom, pictured with her arms in the air, with “hands up for Mad Monday hehe!!” and “so naughty” written around it.

Dempsey and De Koning’s stunt was poking fun at the unfounded but seemingly constant speculation surrounding Geelong’s salary cap.

Cynical fans have long questioned the management of the Cats’ total player payments, with the strongest of conspiracy theorists even suggesting club sponsor Cotton On might contribute to player salaries with under-the-table payments.

Smith’s arrival at the club at the end of last year did nothing to allay those theories, given he was already sponsored by the clothing giant before arriving.

Also included in Smith’s stories, sent out to his 413,000 followers — the most of any current AFL player — was photos with Brad Close dressed up at Catman, Patrick Dangerfield as a character from Brokeback Mountain and Max Holmes as Caroline Wilson.

He continued to joke that every story was the last one, before inevitably posting another.

“This is what losing a granny does to ya,” he wrote.

“Alright phone away now. Bye.”

Before adding: “This where we’re at boys. Alright phone away.”

And then again: “Alright Danger has taken my phone now promise sorry guys.”

Smith’s deleted Curnow post comes after Geelong put the heat on Carlton to get something done.

Curnow is under contract until 2029 and the Blues’ demands will determine the direction of negotiations.

Cats football boss Andrew Mackie confirmed his club’s interest in Curnow.

“Ultimately Carlton have got to be the ones that will determine that market — not us,” Mackie told 7NEWS Melbourne.

“He’s contracted for four years. The other thing is we’ve got to work out whether we can get a deal done. We don’t want to drag things out if it’s not possible to.”

As things stand Geelong only hold picks No.17, No.35, No.53 and No.71 in this year’s draft.

Hawthorn midfielder James Worpel will announce his intention to join the Cats this week but he is a restricted free agent, meaning he could arrive for free or a late draft pick if the Hawks force a trade.

The Curnow talks could impact Geelong’s ability to secure St Kilda ruckman Rowan Marshall.

Marshall has already met with Cats coach Chris Scott in the fallout from the Saints’ handling of his future amid the arrival of Tom De Koning.

Under contract until 2027, Marshall is reportedly unhappy with how he learned about the deal and what it means for his role.