Smith’s rise from pub floors to 100 NRL games
BRANDON Smith grew up selling raffle tickets at a sports club on Waiheke Island, his mum working in the canteen and his dad in the bar.
“So I was the little rat who used to walk around and sell the raffle tickets,” he says.
“I did it from the age of about five to about 13. It’s hard to turn down a five-year-old when he’s selling tickets.”
He left New Zealand for Townsville at 13 to live with his brother while he went to school.
Smith was a naughty kid, he reckons. But it had nothing to do with growing up in the pub.
Amazing, then, that the ‘little rat’ has played 100 NRL games.
On Thursday night he was reduced to tears in the sheds reading messages from people he used to sell raffle tickets to – old school teachers, old best friends and people who have been involved in his life to date.
A 36-30 loss to Manly was not the ideal way to celebrate, but he remains grateful for how far he’s come.
“To be fair, I’m usually quite gutted when we lose but for some reason I feel pretty blessed to play a game that I love. I’ve managed to get to 100 games and my family came to watch, the Storm paid for them to stay in a hotel, so at the end of the day I’m so grateful,” he says.
Everyone sees the larrikin in Smith but to reduce him to it is too simplistic.
Yeah, he’s funny. Yeah, he’s a bit of a rat bag. But he’s also a serious player with a selfless attitude for his teammates – whether they’re of Melbourne or New Zealand creed.
Thursday night’s milestone celebration didn’t do him justice.
His parents Tirohia and Shane refused the Storm’s offer of flights to Sydney, opting to drive down from Brisbane to Brookvale Oval instead.
Smith gave them something to cheer about, aside from his career in general, when he pulled off a cheeky one-on-one strip in the second half to score under the posts.
It was a trademark move for the competitive 26-year-old, but it wasn’t enough to get the chocolates.
Kiwis coach Michael Maguire has known him for five years and marvels at Smith’s ability to fill any role the
Storm needs him too.
“He’s a competitor, he’s one hell of a player,” Maguire tells CodeSports.
“He’s been very fortunate to play in a strong organisation and team, but I guess he’s been very selfless in a way of just playing whatever position is required by a team.”
This is the same brave man that once put rocks in Craig Bellamy’s suitcase to make it several kilograms heavier for his hot-tempered coach.
The same guy with a bleached head of hair nicknamed the ‘block of cheese’.
But Maguire believes Smith’s silly personality means he probably doesn’t get enough credit for his determination and selflessness to throw his body into brick walls in whatever position he’s asked to play.