Smith’s happy target
HIGH-PROFILE Gold Coast Knights recruit Sam Smith concedes he will be a marked man this season but says he will happily forego individual glory for team success.
The 28-year-old Englishman has been a goalscoring revelation since arriving in Australia in late 2016, winning the Golden Boot the following year with 22 strikes in as many games for now-defunct Gold Coast City before finding the net nine times in 24 NPL Victoria appearances for Port Melbourne last year.
That record will have caught the attention of this year’s rivals, including tonight’s Croatian Sports Centre guests Mackay and Whitsundays, but the former Derby County junior is not worried.
“I am a team player and if I score a few less goals and someone else scores a few more and we win things, that’s what I would rather do. It’s not all about me, it’s about the team,” Smith, who has reunited with ex-City coach Grae Piddick at the Knights, said.
“Of course, you come up from Melbourne and there’ll be expectations but I’m relishing the pressure so I’m looking forward to (the season). If you don’t put a bit of pressure on yourself at the start of the season there’s something wrong so the only pressure I feel is from myself to try and achieve something to help the team.
“I think I’ve done quite well (previously). Obviously winning the Golden Boot in 2017 in Queensland was a highlight.
“Those who know know what happened in Melbourne but I think it was a successful season in the end because Port Melbourne made finals as a team, which was the first time Port Melbourne had made finals football in the NPL.
“I do (set goals) but I tend to keep them to myself. At the end of the day I go into every single match thinking I can score a goal otherwise there’d be no point going on to the pitch.”
Born and bred in Derby, Smith played professionally at Cambridge United and Lincoln City but made the move to Australia after his career was disrupted by injury.
THERE’LL BE EXPECTATIONS BUT I’M RELISHING THE PRESSURE SO I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO (THE SEASON)
KNIGHTS SIGNING SAM SMITH
Handed the Knights’ cocaptaincy alongside fellow striker Andy Barisic, he said the decision to return to the Coast, where he also runs his own coaching business, was a no-brainer.
“In the end in England, I’d had an injury or two so maybe I didn’t get to the level that I wanted to, and I always wanted to try Australia to live anyway. I knew I’d be capable of playing out here and I’ve done reasonably well so far.
“As much as I enjoyed my time in Melbourne, I didn’t see myself there long term so it was an easy decision in some ways, when Grae got in contact with me, to say ‘if we can sort something out I am happy to make the move back’.”