ORIGIN RIVAL LAUDS LEGEND
Michael Ennis was left in awe of Cameron Smith, writes Fox Sports’ John Dean
WHEN it comes to the representative arena, there’s no underestimating the giant hole Cameron Smith leaves for both Queensland and Australia.
Smith dropped a bombshell on the rugby league world on Tuesday, announcing he was immediately retiring from rep football due to the toll last year’s State of Origin series and the World Cup took on him both mentally and physically.
With Origin I on June 6, Maroons coach Kevin Walters must quickly decide who will be the man charged with filling Smith’s massive boots.
While Smith’s replacement will no doubt be told to play his own natural game, the Storm skipper’s former Origin rival Michael Ennis said there was always one particular play that was able to get the Maroons out of trouble just when NSW started to build pressure.
“He was a wonderful competitor to play against,” Ennis said.
“I don’t think in my time, playing at any level, did I play against someone who could change the momentum of a game or manage momentum better than Cameron Smith.
“Those long left-foot kicks just when you thought you had your foot on the throat, and the kick chase led by Johnathan Thurston, Greg Inglis and Cooper Cronk, who helped swing the momentum back in their favour.
“Whether I was playing in the games or sitting at home watching, it was that left-foot kick that so often changed the momentum of an Origin game.
“Often it was on play three, play four, deep in their half and he’d sit it one metre from the tryline or sit it in the in-goal.
“Before you knew it, NSW were coming off their line, they’d make an error and it’d be Queensland down their end for 10 to 15 minutes.
“A lot of people will talk about the tries they scored, but so often when you went back and found the moment where the momentum swung, it came from Cameron Smith.”
Ennis said the superstar rake was always a key target during games, but could never be stopped.
“He just knew when to pull the right reins at the right times and was always composed in those big moments,” Ennis said.
“He featured in every one of your pre-game plans. He wasn’t number one on your tip sheet, he was in the top three every time.
“You could never shut Cameron Smith out of a game, ever. You could only limit his impact and that was on the rare
occasion. But nine out of 10 times he dictated what he wanted to do from dummy half.
“The greatest recognition I could give Cameron was the bigger the game, the more at stake, you look back at his performances and they were always his best.
“It’s a sad day for rugby league to see him exit the representative arena, where he’s
really dominated and become arguably the best in that position to ever play the game.
“It’s hard for me to say that he is because I didn’t see a lot of the other guys, but in terms of the ones I watched play dummy half – and I hold Danny Buderus in the utmost respect – I think Cameron Smith’s the greatest dummy half we’ve seen.”
YOU COULD NEVER SHUT CAMERON SMITH OUT OF A GAME, EVER. — MICHAEL ENNIS