Cameron Smith has finally addressed his playing future, revealing “there’s no way” he would re-sign with Melbourne Storm if it means the club will lose either Brandon Smith or Harry Grant.
Smith’s potential retirement from the NRL has been the source of speculation for months leading up to the Storm’s 2020 grand final win.
In his autobiography, The Storm Within, the 37-year-old premiership-winning captain appeared to close off any chance of playing on for the club with which he spent 18 years.
According to the excerpt, published by News Corp, he informed long-time coach Craig Bellamy of his intentions midway through the season.
“There’s no way I’m re-signing for another 12 months if the club is going to lose either Harry or Brandon,” he wrote. “I don’t want to see the club struggle in the long term just so I can play one more season.”
Understudies Brandon Smith and Grant, who have waited in Smith’s shadow for more playing time in the hooker role, played a significant part in his thinking.
“I was well aware of Brandon Smith’s and Harry Grant’s situations,” Smith wrote. “And I knew that if I chose to play on in Melbourne, it would be hard for the Storm to retain all three of us, even though the club had said time and time again that it could.
“I appreciated that Brandon and Harry were building careers of their own. Brandon has established himself as the New Zealand No 9, and Harry played 2020 with the Wests Tigers, where he had a standout season.”
Grant has had a breakout season on loan at Wests Tigers and is in line to make his State of Origin debut for Queensland on Wednesday night.
The 22-year-old Dally M rookie of the year said it was humbling to hear Smith did not want to stand in the way of his burgeoning career.
“That’s pretty hard to take Cam saying that,” Grant said.
Having become a first-grade regular during his year with the Tigers, Grant had indicated he would exercise a get-out clause in his Storm contract if he’d found himself behind Smith upon his return.
However, he said he committed to the club in 2021 and tussling with Brandon Smith for the No 9 jersey.
“Yeah I’ll go back down to Melbourne,” Grant said. “I think we start January 4. Get a good break, back home to Yeppoon and then get back into it.”
Cameron Smith, who has played more than 500 games for the Storm, Queensland and Australia, did not – in this excerpt, at least – appear to rule out playing for a rival club in 2021 and was recently linked to a switch to the Gold Coast.
