Geyer sees bright future for ‘unwilling’ dasher Smith
Currumbin coach Matt Geyer says it is only a matter of time before Lachlan Smith combines hard work with the talent he possesses and turns in a breakout performance.
It took Sunday’s 50-16 win over Helensvale to truly showcase that, and now the former Melbourne Storm flyer has tipped his prodigy to push for higher honours.
Smith told his grandfather prior to kick off he’d score a try for him to celebrate the first chance he’d had to watch him play in a decade. He scored five.
The versatile outside back – playing his first game since the club’s Round 3 defeat to Runaway Bay – was in a realm of his own in the Eagles triumph, with Geyer declaring some of the tries “takes a Lachie Smith to score”.
Geyer said Smith could be just a strong finish to the Rugby League Gold Coast season away from joining former teammate Zion Johnson in Queensland Cup honours.
Eagles product Johnson turned his try-scoring form at the back end of the 2022 campaign into a train-and-trial stint with the Redcliffe Dolphins and is plying his trade in the Brisbane Rugby League in pursuit of a debut.
Geyer said Smith possessed the same raw ability, having cast aside a disjointed season last year to transform his approach in 2023.
He said that for all that Smith could achieve in the game, it was moments like the one with his grandfather that typified the club’s brand.
“Lachie wasn’t sure what he was going to do at the start of last year. He probably came back – I don’t want to put words in his mouth – but a little unwillingly,” Geyer said.
“But this year he had a really good pre-season, and if he’s not the fittest guy in the club he’s in the top few. When you put that talent into some good hard work it’s hard to stop.”
While Smith has taken his game to new heights, Geyer has been forced to cover a pair of crucial voids left by Johnson’s Dolphins bid and a major injury to Tyler Gilbert.