Brandon Smith must try to rebuild relationships at Melbourne when he joins NRL pre-season training on Tuesday, says Storm football manager Frank Ponissi.
Smith shocked the 2020 grand final champions with a series of revelations in a recent expletive-laden podcast which left his immediate future with Melbourne in doubt.
The club has already announced he will depart when his contract ends at the end of next season, with the Sydney Roosters set to announce his signature as soon as this week.
Ponissi said he had spoken to Smith who had apologised, but felt the hooker needed to show he wanted to be a part of their 2022 campaign.
“It all starts for him tomorrow and you could certainly use the word regain the respect or trust or whatever you want to call it,” Ponissi told 3AW radio on Monday night.
“There’s obviously some work to be done by Brandon … not just through words but through actions.
“He’s contracted to the club and if he can show he wants to be here then this is where his future will be.”
Smith alleged in the podcast Melbourne had a “massive drinking culture”, which Ponissi said wasn’t the case.
“I found the drinking culture (comments) puzzling – I think you only have to look at our record over the past seven years … you don’t have those performances over a long period of time if you’ve got a drinking culture,” he said.
“There’s five per cent of things he shouldn’t have said and he regrets saying them now.
“There were a lot of disappointed people and thankfully no more disappointed than himself.”
Ponissi, who has been at the club as coach Craig Bellamy’s right-hand man since 2007, also denied the Storm had shopped Smith around for next season.
He did concede the club had been approached.
“There was crazy speculation on the weekend about swapping him,” he said.
“I can guarantee we didn’t approach a club.”
While Smith will return, prop Nelson Asofa-Solomona who is also due back Tuesday, won’t be able to join training after opting not to get a COVID vaccination.
Jacko
Roar Rookie
I dont think they can loan him out without his permission tho GB and not selecting him is punishing the fans and his team mates too.
mushi
Roar Guru
You also spray 1000 comments out there. You contribute in the sense that a polystyrene maccas container contributes
mushi
Roar Guru
Hold on so now your saying he isn't an expert and admitting to lying about him being a expert. He's not an expert on vaccines. He's also a scientist that disagrees with most other scientists about the irigins of organic chemistry. I almost agreed it's not a challenge, but that's not entirely true. Whilst we could out source the outwitting of you to dying wombat, the sheer volume of you ignorance is indeed challenging, not unlike covid itself. But please tell us all about all your RL friends who love and adore you, we'd enjoy another self validation story from a 1000 a month poster claiming others use the internet for validation.
mushi
Roar Guru
Oh no GB thinks I'm unfit to live. How ever will I survive. I'm reasonably confident that I'd be okay GB, mainly because people of your ilk existing means I'm always ahead of the bell curve.
Mick Gold Coast QLD
Roar Guru
Oh my dear fellow, you being obtuse and obstinate does not render my position unsubstantiated. I have no interest in discussion with a fool on a mission via the internet, go away.
Greg
Roar Pro
Still unable to support your original statement.
Mick Gold Coast QLD
Roar Guru
Literacy is just so passé, yes. Look it up.
Slammin_Sam
Roar Rookie
Yeah I can see that happening....
Slammin_Sam
Roar Rookie
I think the roosters have got another cracker IMHO.....
Nat
Roar Guru
I agree with you. The difference is science will change based on new information. Taking a position based on no testable theory against those that have is not right.
Nat
Roar Guru
Still not ironic nor true. Keep it up little buddy, you'll get there on wiki p2. :thumbup:
Greg
Roar Pro
so nothing to actually support your statement? Just criticism of my writing as though i treat comment threads the same as an essay.
Mick Gold Coast QLD
Roar Guru
Specsavers. Try Specsavers. I see elsewhere spelling and grammar lessons would also be useful.
Nat
Roar Guru
And the question was: back up "“the only cure-all to stop this pandemic in it’s tracks can only be found in a laboratory in the Wuhan Institute of Virology (Chinese Academy of Sciences) controlled by the CCP" and you send origin articles. Why waste your time?
Glory Bound
Roar Rookie
Search for the following video on Yo-uTu-be video of a PhD virologist insider who defected from China and turned whistleblower over a Chinese government cover up of the Wuhan outbreak. Virologist Dr. Li-Meng Yan Claims Coronavirus Lab 'Cover-Up' Made Her Flee China Dr. Li-Meng Yan is a scientist who was working at the Hong Kong School of Public Health when she turned whistleblower on the Chinese Government, after she alleged they knew about the spread of the coronavirus before publicly acknowledging the outbreak. As a result, Dr Yan claims she had to flee to the US for her own safety and is now determined to spread her findings to the world.
Glory Bound
Roar Rookie
Better still then to have him in the 20-man squad each week and cut him from the 17. That will mean he doesn't even play in the second tier competition and has no football at all. I'm sure Smith's manager would threaten to take the issue to court to settle the impasse and break Smith's contract if that were the case though.
Glory Bound
Roar Rookie
The COVID lab-leak hypothesis: what scientists do and don’t know Scientists don’t have enough evidence about the origins of SARS-CoV-2 to rule out the lab-leak hypothesis, or to prove the alternative — that the virus has a natural origin. Scientists don’t have enough evidence about the origins of SARS-CoV-2 to rule out the lab-leak hypothesis, or to prove the alternative — that the virus has a natural origin. A Medium article that speculates on a lab origin for SARS-CoV-2 quotes David Baltimore, a Nobel laureate and professor emeritus at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, as saying that viruses don’t usually have that particular code for arginine, but humans often do — a “smoking gun”, hinting that researchers might have tampered with SARS-CoV-2’s genome. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01529-3
Glory Bound
Roar Rookie
Scientists Don’t Want to Ignore the ‘Lab Leak’ Theory Many scientists welcomed President Biden’s call for a more rigorous investigation of a virus lab in Wuhan, China... https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/27/health/wuhan-coronavirus-lab-leak.html
Glory Bound
Roar Rookie
I was thrown off by the 4 Papi groupies who Liked your comment. I guess the joke is on them as well. :laughing: :thumbup:
Glory Bound
Roar Rookie
It's an old joke and not mine. Still, if that is all it takes to trigger you then you must lead an eventful life. My apologies to all the angry Kiwis who have smashed their computer monitors or mobile phones. I'm sure your sheep are well cared for.