The Melbourne Storm are reportedly considering cutting ties with star hooker Brandon Smith immediately, after a controversial podcast appearance all but confirmed he’ll be at the Sydney Roosters in 2023.
The gun hooker dropped a bombshell over the weekend in an interview with YKTR’s The Ice Project with former NRL player Isaac John, declaring that his ‘decision is made’ of which colours he’ll be wearing in 12 months’ time after months of speculation, and dropping the strongest of hints that they will be red, white and blue.
“Mitchy Aubo [former Rooster Mitch Aubusson] almost made me cry… how he spoke about the club and what they’ve done for him and the history of why they wear that jersey and why we play the way we do,” Smith said.
“I was just looking at the Roosters jersey as he was saying it and I had goosebumps. I was looking at it going, ‘I want to win a premiership in that jersey’.”
The Storm are reportedly furious with the 25-year old’s comments, with Smith still contracted to the club for another year.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, they are now considering cutting Smith immediately. It has been reported that their outrage stems from Smith’s promise that the Storm would have final bidding rights for his services, with the ‘Hectic Cheese’ apparently choosing the Roosters without first talking to his current club.
Earlier, veteran rugby league journalist Phil Rothfield led criticism of Smith’s interview, telling Sky Sports Radio’s Big Sports Breakfast the hooker was being ‘highly disrespectful’ to the Storm after developing him into the player he now is.
“Brandon Smith is on big, big money at the Storm. He came over as a kid from New Zealand, he got the benefit of great coaching from people like Craig Bellamy, learning under Cameron Smith, [Cooper] Cronk, [Billy] Slater to become a marquee player,” Rothfield said.
“He’s contracted there for another 12 months. He’s 16 months away from joining the Roosters, which he’s obviously going to do.
“To start talking about winning a premiership, and his dream of doing that in a Roosters jersey… I think personally is way out of order.”
Rothfield even accused Smith of attempting to use the glowing Roosters review as an attempt to escape his Storm contract a year early.
“If he’d been a bit smarter, [he] would have held that interview… until he told Melbourne, and then toned it down a little bit, throw in a few lines about his commitment to the Storm for the next twelve months,” he said.
“What he’s said makes me wonder if he’s trying to get out of there a year early and join the Roosters next year.
“He’s a great character – one of the beauties of Brandon Smith is that he tells it how it is and there are no cliches. He’s open and honest in whatever he says, but I was really disappointed.”
Brandon Smith (Photo by Kelly Defina/Getty Images)
Rugby league great and Big Sports Breakfast co-panellist Laurie Daley disagreed with that claim, however; though he admitted Smith had been ‘a bit naive’ in expressing his admiration for the Roosters publicly.
“You just keep those comments to yourself,” Daley said.
“You can talk about the Roosters being a wonderful club, but to talk about winning a premiership for them and then how emotional you got when you saw Mitch Aubusson talking and how special it would be to play there… I think you’ve just got to keep some things private until your commitments are up at your club.
“If he said that at the end of next season, I think everyone would go ‘you know what, well done, congratulations’… I don’t think he thought being on that podcast would get as much traction as it has.”
Rothfield’s criticisms were echoed by Fox Sports News host Cody Kaye, who urged the Storm to cut ties with Smith now following the ‘unbelievably disrespectful’ comments.
Smith’s main concern, according to the man himself, is breaking the news to Storm coach – and the famously ill-tempered – Craig Bellamy.
“I’ve got to go talk to ‘Bellsa’ [Bellamy] and see what he says… it is going to be pretty emotional,” Smith said.
“I don’t know what to expect from that. I’m pretty nervous actually.”
However, Rothfield is concerned that meeting could turn ugly.
“I would not like to be him walking into a meeting with Frank Ponissi and Craig Bellamy this week,” he said.
“There are a couple of lines I thought were highly disrespectful to Craig Bellamy… when he started talking about how good ‘Robbo’ [Roosters coach Trent Robinson] was, when he started talking about how good [Roosters chairman] Nick Politis was. What does [Storm chairman] Matt Tripp think about that?
“They’ve been able to come to grips with the fact that he’s been talking to other clubs because he hasn’t broken any laws. They’ve come to grips with the fact that they’re likely to lose him and it’s all fair in love and war in rugby league.”
Smith had previously knocked back the Storm’s contract extension, reportedly worth $2.2 million over three years.
He had previously been linked with Queensland trio the Brisbane Broncos, North Queensland Cowboys and new franchise the Dolphins, before – it now seems all but certain – settling on the Roosters.
JennyfromPenny
Guest
Yeah, I’m pretty sure he says the f-word really loudly to mask the sound, about faces and marches up to the back of the box, waits a few seconds until he sees someone else get blamed, and then comes back down.
JennyfromPenny
Guest
Yeah haha all six.
criag
Roar Rookie
The Roosters pretty much already have adopted regional and Pacific Island areas and do a great job developing players despite the tiny area they've been allocated. Being a talented junior is one thing, but turning a player into a good/champion first grader is a whole other level. But apart from that, your plan would see many issues. It's restraint of trade, and we all know how the players' union feels about that. If a club wants to keep a junior, it is really up to them to make it attractive for them to stay, whether it be having players in first grade they want to play with, good management, etc. It's also a backward step (it sort of happened way back in the day when you had to be graded to your local team, which led to some corruption). I don't know about being tied for life to one employer, either. Then there is the fact that not every junior with potential is picked up by their senior club. You would effectively be dooming players to unemployment. Penrith had 9000 junior players across 580 teams in 2019.
Greg
Roar Pro
thats a breach of the playing contract
Greg
Roar Pro
How has he disrespected the Storm? He was full of praise for the Storm during the interview.
Greg
Roar Pro
how would this help the game grow?
Greg
Roar Pro
1) No, because he is being given that food, drink etc unconditionally. He may be wined and dined but that does not guarantee he signs. E.g. every other club that Smith visited. 2) We do not know if he is or isn't getting unders, nor is there any evidence that "no one really takes “unders” these days". 3) 3rd party deals exist because it is illegal to not allow them (restraint of trade). Why should Roosters or any other club be penalised for creating strong networks with wealthy investors. Players may be more inclined to sign with the Roosters believing they are a better chance of gaining 3rd party deals, but it becomes a breach if they are guaranteed 3rd party deals as part of their contract signing.
Randy
Roar Rookie
i heard Bellamy sometimes cuts the cheese in the coaching box and then blames his assistants...
jimmmy
Roar Rookie
No and that's why he is going. You can't afford to keep him. If you could afford him he stays. Its not not rocket science. You can't have FIVE a grade spine players ,cause you can't pay them enough. You can have four if you are really careful. Roosters have 4.
Redcap
Roar Guru
He comes perilously close to self-incrimination.
Mick Gold Coast QLD
Roar Guru
"I recommend giving the first 30 mins a listen ..." Now why on earth would I choose to do that!?
Davico
Roar Pro
The bloke is not the sharpest knife in the drawer. The more worrying part is talking about slipping vodka into another players beer and finding it funny he threw up in a shoe. What are these blokes 16? Grow up!
Redcap
Roar Guru
Hi Mick, . I watched it last night – at least I Iasted for 40 of the 55 mins by which point they weren’t just dropping occasional F and C bombs, they were using them as punctuation. . It was the interviewer who started dropping C bombs and who was chiefly responsible for the discussion degenerating. . It actually started out ok – Smith gave some interesting insights into the pitches he received from GC, Redcliffe and Easts. . I can’t see why Melbourne would be that annoyed with him – sure, it’s obvious he had his head turned by Easts. It struck me more as excitement than disrespect. . He was nothing but glowing in his descriptions of people at Melbourne. . I recommend giving the first 30 mins a listen and pay particular attention to the bit where he talks about Cameron Smith.
mike
Guest
Here's an idea to actually help Rugby League grow... You an only use players from your own junior competitions. No player movements. That's it. You come through a junior league system, you play for the NRL team that overseas it for life. No more Adam Reynolds leaving dramas, or this Brendon Smith rubbish. If an NRL team wants to expand it's territory or hasn't got a junior comp (like Melbourne and roosters) they can adopt a regional comp or 6. Then, when they lose a player to retirement or bad form, they develop them up, rather than poaching them. They could even adopt a pacific Island and grow the comp and players there. Players then can get paid as much as they want as salaray cap becomes irrelevant. ** Each team could be given an exemption for up to say, 2 players from non-NRL markets, like UK, France etc, and pay them what they want.
mushi
Roar Guru
a 20:1 F to C ratio is pretty respectful
Glory Bound
Roar Rookie
"the Cheese and Radley just destroying teams" Like Cameron Murray and Damien Cook? :laughing:
Glory Bound
Roar Rookie
He also left Bennett and the Dolphins in the dark. He had convinced them he was signing with the Dolphins. If he had made his position clear they would have gone hard after Reed Mahoney. Left high-and-dry: Dolphins scrambling for options after Smith’s last-minute snub Ultimately, Smith decided against joining the Dolphins, leaving the club scrambling to reassess targets for the incredibly important number nine jersey. Smith’s decision has left the Dolphins in a tricky situation, and if they had any indication he wouldn’t be choosing them the club would have chased outgoing Eels hooker Reed Mahoney harder. Now the Dolphins have only a handful of options to fill the number nine role, a position which has become more important than ever in the modern game. Each of the premiership contenders have a top-class hooker, and the NRL’s newest team’s options are dwindling to secure a solid number nine. https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-premiership/nrl-2021-dolphins-brandon-smith-sydney-roosters-wayne-bennett-gold-coast-titans-melbourne-storm/news-story/416817e7328d4357f9d7066d260dcd20
Mick Gold Coast QLD
Roar Guru
Our hero’s interview is reported this morning in other League pages: “Smith used the word f*** 61 times and c*** three times during the 56-minute episode” The transcript is shown in the Telegraph – the manner of expression is appalling. The NRL, Melbourne and now Easts surely have set the bar low with this bloke.
Big Daddy
Roar Rookie
Jenny, if Melbourne don't fine him the NRL will surely have something to fine him for .
Chuck
Guest
Agree, in this game honesty certainly does not pay.