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Writing for a living on websites such as The Roar and having lived a life passionately connected to the game, has allowed me to meet many rugby league people.
More often than not, the average man or woman in the street is extremely flattering in their praise, appreciative of the pieces they have read and genuinely happy to discuss some of the key issues in the game.
After the representative retirement of Cameron Smith and my penchant for a conversation, many of my recent rugby league interactions have steered in the direction of the former Queensland and Australian captain.
Most stunning, are the divergent views expressed. It is hard to believe that people could be so diametrically opposed in their opinions.
Often in life we have a view on something that may morph or evolve over time as we discover information of which we may have previously been unaware.
It is often a subtle change in opinion or perspective and reflects a mature ability to learn and see beyond our sometimes rigid and inflexible minds.
Cameron Smith of the Storm (AAP Image/Craig Golding)
In regards to Cameron Smith, there appears to be two schools of thought with both so assured and convinced of their positions that I find myself stumped as to what the real truth of the man actually is.
Personally, I always saw Smith as a great leader on the field. A player able to inspire his team. He also massaged and manipulated referees like no other thanks to a football intellect that is unrivalled in the game.
I saw him as tough in the centre of the ruck for a man of his size and blessed with dexterous skill with the ball in hand or on foot. There were a few moments where I had the shits with him as he snatched victories against my team and Melbourne were indeed the masters of the grapple which saw Smith perform the technique as well as anyone.
Throughout the course of the last week, I have encountered two very clear schools of thought and two very different types of people when it comes to Cameron Smith.
# 1 The hater
The vitriol from this side of the argument has been funny to watch. For some, Smith is a downright cheat. His rather innocuous physical presence is a sure sign of shenanigans going on elsewhere in his game. These people claim no player of such average proportions could be as effective as Smith, given the violence and brutality of the modern game.
They say he wrestled, grappled and delayed, all the while pacifying referees to the point where they thought of him as their mate, their friend and developed a Harry Potter-style invisibility cloak to protect himself from sanction.
Moreover, he was part of a News Limited club that referees, the media and the NRL itself was invested in so far, that Premierships were a must. The captain was to become one of the most protected and untouchable.
The salary cap rorts of 2006-09 only confirmed this belief for many and the bitterness felt towards Smith and his team still lives to this very day.
Throw in the fact that Smith is a Queenslander, a state whose borders are no limit to State of Origin representation and open to anyone who might aid their cause, and the hatred south of that border only intensifies.
In short, people told me he is a filthy grub, protected and worse than all, a cheat. I nodded a lot and wondered what their parents had done to them to make them so angry.
# 2 The Immortal
A completely separate and one must say calmer group of people, told me that Cameron Smith is the best we have seen since Wally Lewis.
The man we still call the King drove me insane in the eighties as he choreographed Maroon victories against the Blues time after time.
As the years have passed, even staunch New South Wales men and women have grown to appreciate the feats of Lewis and his status in the game is unquestioned.
The Smith lovers tell me that he will one day be held in the same esteem; a gifted genius whose football brain stood him out from those around him and provided the level head behind the greatest club team of the 21st century.
As member after member of the ‘so-called’ big four left to greener pastures or suffered extended periods of injury, Smith remained, backing up from Origin matches and inspiring younger teams to victory, as his career began to approach its completion.
Cameron Smith and the Storm (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
Smith’s fans claim his physical irrelevance only emphasises his genius, as a player who used the cerebral side of the game to dredge every inch from his players and the officials, in order to be successful.
They made it unquestionably clear that his feats in the green and gold, appreciated by the entire nation, cement his place as one of the most naturally talented, crafty and professional footballers of the modern era.
# 3 The conclusion
After all the vitriol, cheerleading and confliction, I was a little lost. I thought Smith was a terrific player, a good captain and a cheeky bastard who had his moments over the years.
Maybe I am right and the two factions are blinded by their own personal wins and losses. Maybe Cameron Smith was just somewhere in between.