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Cameron Smith has officially broken Bill Harrigan’s record for refereeing the most first grade matches in the NRL.
Smith has now controlled the whistle in more than 400 first grade games, eclipsing the man they called ‘Hollywood’.
The Storm captain’s achievement is all the more remarkable because, unlike former NRL players like Luke Phillips, Paul Mellor and Henry Perenara, who began refereeing after their playing careers ended, Smith is the first to have done both at the same time.
Smith has been the benchmark for 18 seasons of policing opponents’ rucks, markers, offside, and obstructions, and his latest milestone was lauded across the code, as social media lit up with tributes from players and officials.
A ‘who’s who’ of past and present whistleblowers lined up to congratulate Smith, including senior referee Gerard Badgeholder.
“I can’t overstate Cameron’s influence on my own development. When I was a young referee, there were many times that I lacked confidence in making calls, and it was just so reassuring to have Cameron there always guiding me, always pointing out things that I might miss, always providing that extra pair of eyes,” Badgeholder said.
“I knew that as long as I followed my processes – look to the pocket referee, look to the touch judges and then look to Cameron for the final OK, I knew I’d make the right decision.”
Cameron Smith consulting a colleague. (AAP Image/Craig Golding)
The milestone comes as some have questioned the decision to retain the two-referee system only for matches involving Melbourne, while moving to a single referee for all other matches.
It is understood that initially, Project Apollo considered moving to the one referee for Storm games also, but it was felt the workload on Smith would have been too much. There were also logistical issues in working out how the new captain’s challenge would work for Smith, even though it was felt he was unlikely to challenge his own calls.
One passionate Storm fan said what many followers of the game are thinking: “If we qualify for the grand final, I suspect Smithy will decide to finish both his careers on the biggest stage. But, as the consummate professional, for him it will be just another match to officiate and play in.
“He knows there will be plenty of time after the game to reflect and look back on his two careers.”
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