Smith fuels speculation he might be retiring type
MELBOURNE skipper Cameron Smith has added to the swirl of rumours that he is considering retiring after this weekend’s decider against the Sydney Roosters.
Speaking at the official grand final launch yesterday, Smith said hanging up his boots at the same time as superstar fullback Billy Slater is a serious option if his side lifts the trophy on Sunday.
“I don’t have a contract for next year, so I don’t know,” Smith said. “I’ve said several times I’d like to play on next year but at the moment I’m not in that situation.”
The veteran hooker looked all but certain to become the first player to reach the 400game milestone after reports a deal with the Storm had been finalised.
But the future Immortal is yet to officially put pen to paper and revealed only six days ago retirement is now a serious option for him.
Storm coach Craig Bellamy said he hasn’t spoken to Smith about his comments, which were made following Melbourne’s preliminary final win against Cronulla.
But Bellamy wants Smith to shelve his retirement plans.
“He knows I want him to play on without a doubt,” Bellamy said. “It’s up to Cam and his management and our club to come to an agreement.
“Obviously this week wasn’t the right time. There’s no doubt in my mind that Cameron going on is the best thing for our club.
“I don’t see why he can’t go on for another few years. Having said that, at his age, he’ll probably take it year by year.”
A move to walk away from the game wouldn’t be the first time Smith made a shock decision on his future.
The Maroons skipper took everyone by surprise when he called time on his representative career only weeks out from this year’s Origin series.
One man who will definitely be playing his final game on Sunday is Melbourne’s Billy Slater. He’ll get his chance at a fairytale finish after escaping a ban for a shoulder charge at the judiciary on Tuesday night.
Smith revealed his teammates spent the night anxiously waiting for an outcome in Slater’s case.
“I felt sick in the guts for Billy,” he said. “But I had quite a good feeling once I knew he was going to play.”
While Bellamy refused to say he “feared” for Slater’s career, he did concede the fullback’s stature dictated the effort poured into his defence on Tuesday night.
“You don’t know how the ( judiciary) is going to go but we were confident we had a case, but sometimes that can be negated by the prosecution,” he said.
“For us, it was a little bit more than one of our players getting off to play a game, it’s Billy Slater playing his last game and that was emotional for us as a club.”