Cam’s future remains unknown
BELLAMY SAYS HE WILL BE ‘EMOTIONAL’ WHEN SMITH RETIRES
CRAIG Bellamy admits he will be “emotional” when Cameron Smith’s glittering NRL career comes to an end, but insists he has no idea if the Melbourne Storm legend is gearing up for what could be his final game.
Smith will make his 429th and potentially final NRL appearance when the Storm take on Canberra in a grand final qualifier at Suncorp Stadium tonight.
Smith, 37, is off-contract beyond this season and has given no public indication if he plans to play on or retire.
Storm officials privately believe Smith will walk away from the game this year and are preparing for the former Queensland Origin and Kangaroos captain to announce his retirement when Melbourne’s premiership campaign is officially over.
That could be either tonight or after Sunday week’s grand final in Sydney if the Storm beat the Raiders.
Smith gave little away during what could have been his final training session on the Sunshine Coast on Thursday and Melbourne coach Bellamy said his captain’s future was still up in the air.
“We still don’t know what Cam’s doing, I said right at the start I’m not going to expect an answer from him until he’s ready to give an answer,” Bellamy said.
“We would have liked to have made it a little bit more special if it is his last game, but I promised him I wouldn’t put any heat on him and he had the right to make that decision when he wanted to.
“I pointed out to him the fact that if he’s going to retire or go to another club, hopefully not, then we’d like to send him out on a winning note. I haven’t heard anything about it since that conversation.
“I’ll sit back and think about it if that’s the case or next year. It’s going to be a little bit emotional I’d imagine.”
The Storm enjoyed a bye after beating Parramatta in week one of the finals and Bellamy said his side had to improve its defence to topple the Raiders.
Smith’s family will be in the grandstands as the Storm attempt to reach their fourth grand final in five years.