Cameron Smith

Cameron Wayne Smith AM (born 18 June 1983) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who has played his entire career to date for the Melbourne Storm in the NRL.

This article is about the Australian rugby league player. For other people with similar names, see Cameron Smith (disambiguation).

Cameron Smith
Personal information
Full nameCameron Wayne Smith[1]
Born (1983-06-18) 18 June 1983
Logan, Queensland, Australia
Height185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight90 kg (14 st 2 lb)
Playing information
PositionHooker
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2002– Melbourne Storm 424 46 1251 4 2710
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2003–17 Queensland 42 5 19 0 58
2006–17 Australia 56 9 67 0 170
2010–16 All Stars 4 0 1 0 2
As of 2 July 2020
Source: [2][3]

A goal-kicking hooker, Smith has captained the Storm since 2006,[lower-alpha 1] winning the 2012 and 2017 NRL Premierships.[lower-alpha 2] He previously represented Queensland in State of Origin and the Australian Kangaroos internationally, captaining both teams from 2012[lower-alpha 3] until his retirement from representative matches in 2018.

Regarded by many as one of the greatest players of all time,[4][5][6] Smith has won the Dally M Medal as the NRL's player of the year in 2006 and 2017, the Golden Boot Award as the international player of the year in 2007 and 2017, and the NRL's Dally M Hooker of the Year on seven occasions.[lower-alpha 4]

Smith is currently the NRL's games record holder, and the only player to have played over 400 matches. He is also the highest all-time points scorer in NRL history, having surpassed Hazem El Masri's 2,418 points on 12 April 2019.[7]

Smith was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours for his service to rugby league.[1]

Early life

Smith was born on 18 June 1983 in Logan, Queensland, Australia. He attended Marsden State High School.[8]

Playing career

Early Career (2000–2001)

Smith played at hooker, five-eighth for the Logan Brothers in Logan City. After scoring 188 points for the Norths Devils in the Queensland Cup[9] he moved up to the NRL with the Melbourne Storm club.

Joining the Storm (2002–2003)

Smith's first two games for Melbourne were during the 2002 NRL season, both played at half-back(No.7). The following year he played as the Storm's hooker. In 2003 the Queensland rugby league team were without a specialist hooker. After experimenting with different players in the position for the first two matches of the 2003 State of Origin series and losing both, Smith was named at hooker(No.9) for the third match. For the next six years no other player wore the number 9 for the Maroons until this run of 19 consecutive Origins was cut due to injury. He was named the Melbourne Storm's rookie of the year in 2003.[10]

Early success and Representative selection (2005–2007)

In 2005, Smith was named the Melbourne Storm's player of the year. The following year he first represented Australia and won the Dally M Medal. Also in Round 3 of 2006 Smith captained the club for the first time and in what became a very successful year for him as later that year he led the Storm to the 2006 NRL Grand Final. During the Grand Final, while the game was still in the balance, he was forced from the field with injury, which the Storm's loss has been largely attributed to.[11] At the Melbourne Storm awards night Smith was named the Storm's 2006 player of the year.

Cam Smith on international duty with the Kangaroos in 2006

Smith was selected to play for the Australian national team at hooker the 2007 ANZAC Test match victory against New Zealand.[12] For the 2007 State of Origin series, Smith took out both the Wally Lewis Medal for player of the series and Ron Mcauliffe Medal for Queensland player of the series.[13] He was also named the Melbourne Storm player of the year. Smith captained the Melbourne Storm in their 34–8 victory over the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in the 2007 NRL Grand Final.

Smith with the Storm in 2007.

Becoming Captain (2008–2009)

Smith became regular captain of the Melbourne Storm in 2008. Smith captained the Maroons for the entire 2008 State of Origin series due to the absence of regular captain Darren Lockyer. The Maroons won the series with him as the captain, despite losing the first match 18–10. In August 2008, Smith was named in the preliminary 46-man Kangaroos squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup,[14][15] and in October 2008 he was selected in the final 24-man Australia squad.[16] Cameron was suspended for two weeks in the 2008 finals series after a grapple tackle on Brisbane's Sam Thaiday. The suspension would have only been one week had he not have carried over points from a previous grapple tackle in round 1 of the year's competition. This meant he was suspended for Melbourne's 2008 grand final. Melbourne Storm CEO Brian Waldron and coach Craig Bellamy claimed the judiciary had made their minds up before Cameron's case was heard. The judiciary panel members then threatened to sue the club if the comments were not retracted. Cameron signed a four-year extension to his contract in December 2008, resulting in him being a contracted player through to the end of at least the 2012 season. His contract is rumoured to be partly funded by third party sponsors who do not contribute to the standard salary cap. He became the Melbourne Storm's most experienced playing player due to the retirement of Matt Geyer at the end of 2008. He became the last current Storm player in the squad who played under Mark Murray as well as the only one to have played in a season when the Storm did not make the finals due to their performance (the Storm finished 10th in 2002, the year Smith made his debut).

In April 2009, he was named in the preliminary 25 man squad to represent Queensland in the opening State of Origin match for 2009.[17] He was selected for Australia in the one-off test match against New Zealand on 8 May 2009.[18] In the preliminary final in which Melbourne defeated the Brisbane Broncos 40–10, he became Storm's highest ever point scorer, beating Matt Orford's record of 877. Smith led the Storm in their 2009 NRL Grand Final victory over the Parramatta Eels.[19] At the end of the season, he joined the Kangaroos on their campaign to win the 2009 Four Nations tournament in England. He scored the try that saved Australia from losing in the opening match and also scored in the Kangaroos' victory against England in the final.

Many of Smith's club achievements between the years of 2006 and 2010 were later placed under an asterisk after the Melbourne Storm were stripped of all honours achieved in those years due to the discovery of extensive salary cap cheating.[20]

National Captaincy and Premiership success (2010–2012)
Smith (centre) training with the Maroons in 2009.

In 2010 he played in the 2010 World Club Challenge at halfback in the absence of his usual number 7 Cooper Cronk due to injury. Smith kicked 5 goals and was named man of match. For the 2010 ANZAC Test, Smith was selected to play for Australia at hooker in their victory against New Zealand. For the first time since Game II of the 2003 Origin series, Smith wasn't wearing the number 9 for Queensland, after he failed to overcome the elbow injury he sustained playing in that test. He was replaced by Matt Ballin.[21] In Round 26 of the 2010 NRL season Smith became the first Melbourne Storm player to reach 1,000 points after successfully converting Ryan Hinchcliffe's try. Smith played in the 42–0 thrashing of the Papua New Guinea national rugby league team during the 2010 Four Nations. It was a game where he converted 5 tries and scored once. He was later named man of the match.

Smith was named man-of-the-match in Queensland's win in Game I and later Game III of the 2011 State of Origin series, subsequently resulting in his naming as the Wally Lewis medal winning man-of-the-series. On 3 November 2011 The annual RLIF Awards dinner was held at the Tower of London and Smith was named hooker of the year.[22]

Following Darren Lockyer's retirement at the end of the 2011 season, Smith became captain of both Australia and Queensland. He captained both sides to the 2012 ANZAC Test and 2012 State of Origin series victories respectively. At the 2012 Dally M Awards Smith was named the NRL's hooker of the year.[23] He captained Storm to victory in the 2012 NRL Grand Final over the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. Smith also received the Rugby League International Federation's international player of the year award for 2012.[24]

World Cup Success (2013–2016)

In early 2013, Smith captained the Storm to victory in the 2013 World Club Challenge over Leeds earning the title of world champions. Smith captained Australia in the 2013 ANZAC Test and played at hooker. He kicked four goals from six attempts in what was the first test match ever played in Canberra. After victory in the third and deciding game of the 2013 State of Origin series Smith was awarded the Wally Lewis Medal for player of the series, in which he captained the Queensland team which extended their record winning streak to 8 years.

On 9 June 2013, Smith played his 250th game for the Melbourne Storm, the second only player to have achieved that feat.[25]

Queensland's win in Game III of the 2014 State of Origin series made Smith the first player in State of Origin history to win 20 games.

On 30 November 2013, Smith captained Australia to a dominant 34 to 2 win against New Zealand in the 2013 Rugby League World Cup Final ensuring the Australian side went through the entire tournament undefeated.

In November 2014, in the Four Nations game against England, Smith became just the sixth player to appear for Australia in 40 test matches.

On 9 July 2015, Smith captained Queensland to a 2 to 1 series win against New South Wales winning game three emphatically by 52 – 6. It was Smiths' 9th series win in ten years and his fourth series win as captain. At series end, Smith had equalled Darren Lockyer for most Queensland appearances with 36 and received his fifth man of the match award in game one to sit in equal second behind Wally Lewis for most man of the match awards in State of Origin.

On 17 July 2015, Smith became the Melbourne Storms' first 300-game player and only the 24th player in the history of the NRL to achieve such a feat. As of April 2017, Smith is one of only three current NRL players to have eclipsed 300 NRL games.

On 22 June 2016, Smith captained Queensland to their 10th series win in 11 years over New South Wales. Smith was awarded his sixth man of the match award in game 2 of Origin and was awarded the Wally Lewis medal as the player of the series for the fourth time at series end.

Setting Records and Premiership success (2017–2019)

On 10 March 2017, Smith reached 2000 career points in a match against the New Zealand Warriors, becoming the first forward, the first Queenslander, and just the fifth player in history to have achieved the milestone.[26]

On 30 July 2017, Smith became only the 3rd player in NRL history to play 350 games, behind Darren Lockyer (355) and equal with Terry Lamb. On 9 September, he played his 356th match and thereby became NRL's most capped player of all time.

On 30 March 2018, during the round 4 fixture against the Sharks, Smith was sent to the sin bin for backchatting. This was Smith's first sinbinning in his career and the Storm lost the game 14–4 in a match that had 33 penalties in total.[27]

On 15 May 2018, Smith announced his retirement from all representative football, making him unavailable for Queensland or Australian selection.[28]

On 13 July 2019, Smith became the first player in NRL history to play 400 NRL games in the Melbourne Storm 40–16 win over Cronulla. The previous week he kicked his 2500th point.

Later Career (2020–present)

On the 9th of February 2020, Smith took part in a charity cricket match, The Big Appeal to raise money for the Australian Red Cross bushfire appeal.

On July 2, 2020, following injury to Cameron Munster, Smith played at Halfback in the Storm's upset victory over the Roosters in Round 8.

Honours
Smith in 2017

Statistics

NRL
Statistics are correct to Round 8 of the 2020 NRL Season.[29]
† Denotes seasons in which Smith won an NRL Premiership
† Denotes seasons in which Smith won an NRL Premiership that was later stripped
Season Team Matches T G GK % F/G Pts W L D W-L %
2002 Melbourne 200—0011050.00
2003 Melbourne 244888.89032159062.50
2004 Melbourne 2344369.3501021211052.17
2005 Melbourne 2333068.180721310056.52
2006 Melbourne 2557971.170178214084.00
2007† Melbourne 2448870.970192213087.50
2008 Melbourne 2347769.370170185078.26
2009† Melbourne 2536572.220142168164.00
2010 Melbourne 2025475.000116128060.00
2011 Melbourne 2427883.870164195079.17
2012† Melbourne 2527869.640164205080.00
2013 Melbourne 2328474.340176166169.57
2014 Melbourne 2326870.8311451310056.52
2015 Melbourne 2517178.8901461510060.00
2016 Melbourne 2629275.412194215080.77
2017† Melbourne 2329279.310192212091.30
2018 Melbourne 2619882.351201188069.23
2019 Melbourne 27210479.390216216077.78
2020 Melbourne 903586.1107072075.00
Career totals 420 45 1244 75.06 4 2672 300 118 2 71.36

* = Unfinished season

State of Origin
[30]
† Denotes seasons in which Smith won a State of Origin Series
Season Team Matches T G GK % F/G Pts W L D W-L %
2003 Queensland 110—04100100.00
2004 Queensland 30562.5001012033.33
2005 Queensland 30981.8101812033.33
2006† Queensland 300—0021066.66
2007† Queensland 300—0021066.66
2008† Queensland 300—0021066.66
2009† Queensland 310—0421066.66
2010† Queensland 200—00200100.00
2011† Queensland 32150.0001021066.66
2012† Queensland 300—0021066.66
2013† Queensland 301100.000221066.66
2014 Queensland 310—0412033.33
2015† Queensland 300—0021066.66
2016† Queensland 300—0021066.66
2017† Queensland 30350.000621066.66
Career totals 42 5 19 67.85 0 64 26 16 0 61.90

Australia
[31]
† Denotes years in which Smith won a World Cup Title
† Denotes years in which Smith won a Four Nations Title
Season Team Matches T G GK % F/G Pts W L D W-L %
2006 Australia 500—0041080.00
2007 Australia 21660.00016200100.00
2008 Australia 611100.000651083.33
2009† Australia 420—0830175.00
2010 Australia 511571.4203441080.00
2011† Australia 611100.0006600100.00
2012 Australia 220—08200100.00
2013† Australia 71763.63018700100.00
2014 Australia 501178.5702232060.00
2015 Australia 100—000100.00
2016† Australia 60150.0002600100.00
2017† Australia 702575.00050700100.00
Career totals 56 9 67 72.04 0 170 49 6 1 87.50

Personal life

Smith has three children with his long-term partner Barbara Johnson, whom he married in late 2011: two daughters and a son[32], he also supports the Hawthorn Football Club[33], and is an avid car enthusiast who is an ambassador for Holden Special Vehicles as well as an ambassador for the Ovarian Cancer Awareness campaign.[34]

Notes
  1. Smith was one of the multiple captains used by Melbourne in 2006 and 2007 as part of their rotating captaincy system; he was their designated captain in the Grand Final of both of those seasons. Smith has been the club's sole captain since 2008.
  2. Not included are Melbourne's 2007 and 2009 Grand Finals wins, which were stripped due to long-term salary cap breaches.
  3. Officially named as captain of both Queensland and Australia from 2012 onwards, Smith had previously acted as captain in his predecessor Darren Lockyer's absence in all three games of the 2008 series for Queensland, and on five occasions for Australia between 2007 and 2011.
  4. Smith won the Dally M Hooker of the Year in 2006, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, and 2017.
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References
  1. "Cameron Wayne Smith". honours.pmc.gov.au. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  2. loverugbyleague
  3. "Cameron Smith". Rugby League Project.
  4. Balym, Todd (3 December 2013). "Kangaroos captain Cameron Smith belongs in the list of rugby league all time greats". Fox Sports. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  5. Honeysett, Stuart (7 September 2017). "Rugby league Immortal Andrew Johns anoints Cameron Smith as the greatest player he's ever seen". Wide World of Sports. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  6. Moore, Andrew (29 September 2017). "Cameron Smith's greatest season at 34 shows why he is an all-time great and a future Immortal". ABC. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  7. Wolfgram, Jason (12 April 2019). "Smith breaks point-scoring record as Storm beat Cowboys". NRL.com. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  8. School days to class acts By Matt Marshall (The Daily Telegraph 23 April 2009)
  9. "NORTHS DEVILS". QRL. 2010. Archived from the original on 18 February 2011. Retrieved 15 March 2010.
  10. melbournestorm.com.au. "NRL Honour Board". Club. Melbourne Storm. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013.
  11. Masters, Roy (2 October 2006). "Broncos shine on centre stage". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax digital. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
  12. "Anzac Test Match 2007". rugbyleagueproject.org. Shawn Dollin, Andrew Ferguson and Bill Bates. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
  13. Livermore, Ross (2007). "Australian Rugby Football League Annual Report 2007" (PDF). Australian Rugby League Limited. p. 9. Archived from the original (pdf) on 13 September 2009. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  14. Liam FitzGibbon (1 August 2008). "Surprises in Kangaroos squad". "Fox Sports News (Australia)". Archived from the original on 8 August 2008. Retrieved 2 August 2008.
  15. "Veteran Lockyer named in Australian squad". International Herald Tribune. 1 August 2008. Retrieved 2 August 2008.
  16. "Manly six win Australia call-up". BBC. 7 October 2008. Retrieved 7 October 2008.
  17. "Queensland name preliminary State of Origin squad". Fox Sports. 28 April 2009. Archived from the original on 28 May 2009. Retrieved 28 April 2009.
  18. Wald, Tom (3 May 2009). "Kangaroos selectors stick by losing World Cup team for New Zealand Test". Fox Sports. Retrieved 3 May 2009.
  19. Telstra Premiership Scores Archived 3 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine (dead link)
  20. Munro, Ian (23 April 2010). "Melbourne Storm stripped of everything". The Age. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
  21. Koch, Dan (24 May 2010). "Matt Ballin proves Wayne Bennett happily wrong". The Australian.
  22. "Slater scoops player award". Sky Sports. 3 November 2011. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
  23. News Limited (4 September 2012). "All the Dally M winners plus galleries". Herald Sun. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  24. "Awards". rlif.com. Rugby League International Federation. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  25. "Cooper Cronk notches up 250 games with Melbourne Storm". TV NZ. 31 August 2014. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  26. Brunsdon, Simon. "Warriors v Melbourne Storm: Milestone men Cameron Smith and Shaun Johnson rewrite the record books". Fox Sports Australia. News Corporation. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  27. https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/teams/sharks/storm-skipper-cameron-smith-sinbinned-for-the-first-time-in-his-career/news-story/932dc949136a1d9145eda67671783f9a
  28. Cameron Smith makes shock Queensland and Australian representative retirement ABC News 15 May 2018
  29. Cameron Smith player profile at Rugby League Tables
  30. Ferguson, Shawn Dollin and Andrew. "Custom Match List – Rugby League Project".
  31. Ferguson, Shawn Dollin and Andrew. "Custom Match List – Rugby League Project".
  32. "Melbourne Storm captain Cameron Smith a knockabout bloke".
  33. Melbourne Storm captain Cameron Smith believes Hawthorn can climb the summit and win the premiership, Fox Sports, 19 March 2013
  34. "Comments". m.facebook.com. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
Preceded by
Darren Lockyer		 Australia national rugby league team captain
2012–2018		 Succeeded by
Boyd Cordner
Preceded by
Hazem El Masri
2009		 Record-holder
Most points in an NRL career
2019 (2,422)		 Succeeded by
current
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