Sports
FORMER Australia, Queensland and Melbourne Storm captain Cameron Smith has retired at the age of 37.
Smith played a record 430 National Rugby League games at club level and played in 56 Tests for the Kangaroos.
He won two World Cups, 11 State of Origin series with the Maroons and three NRL titles, including in 2020.
“It felt like the right time,” Smith said. “You couldn’t have asked for more than finishing with a premiership at a club I’ve played my whole career with.”
Brisbane-born Smith made his name in Melbourne, helping the Storm become a force following his 2002 debut, and transferred his form to representative football.
Queensland won 11 of 12 Origins between 2005 and 2017 under his guidance and Australia won back-to-back World Cups, one in each hemisphere.
“He’s the greatest player I’ve ever seen,” Storm coach Craig Bellamy said at the unveiling of a statue featuring both Smith and former club and country team-mate Billy Slater – who retired in 2018 – at Melbourne’s AAMI Park.
“His record of well over 400 games – no-one has done that. He’s played over 100 representative games and the success he’s had as a captain has not been done in the [Australian] game and I can’t see it happening again.
“It’s hard to described his effect on our club but it’s how long he’s done it for. To do it for near on 20 years is unparalleled.”
His haul would have included two further NRL premierships had the club administration not been penalised for salary cap breaches, which saw their 2007 and 2009 championships stripped.
He twice won the Dally M medal for ‘best and fairest’ in the competition in 2006 and 2017, the hooker of the year award on nine occasions, and was twice winner of the Golden Boot, given to the world’s best player.
BBC Sport
-Mar 12, 2021 @ 09:27pm
Tags: aged 37 Australia Queensland and Storm great retires
