Dally M Awards: Flawless Cameron Smith claims richly deserved second Dally M Medal

CAMERON Smith is that rare kind of genius. He is not only the best player in the NRL, he is arguably the best footballer of any code in Australia, writes PAUL KENT.

Smith’s dedication to excellence sets him apart. (Michael Dodge/Getty Images)

CAMERON Smith is the best player in the game. On Wednesday night it became official, and final.

Smith was named the Dally M Player of the Year at an awards night with all the trimmings at Star Casino, a purple haze descending on the ceremony as the Melbourne Storm dominated the top awards.

Smith also took out the Dally M Captain of the Year and Craig Bellamy was named the Dally M Coach of the Year.

It is the second time Smith was crowned the Dally M winner, his first medal coming in 2006. In between there has been nothing but excellence.

TEAM OF THE YEAR: Slater in, Taumalolo out

COACH: Bellamy bags No.4

Smith’s dedication to excellence sets him apart. (AAP Image/Julian Smith)

Smith went into the night the shortest priced favourite in years, paying not much more than bank interest with bookmakers by the time the event kicked off. So he was a popular winner.

He polled 33 points to claim the award with three rounds to spare ahead of Sunday’s grand final rival, North Queensland’s Michael Morgan, who polled 25.

Morgan is another who has had a stunning season, taking over the chief playmaker role from Smith’s only true rival as the game’s best player, the injured Johnathan Thurston.

Third was St George Illawarra’s Gareth Widdop (24) with the Sydney Roosters Luke Keary (22) and Cronulla veteran Paul Gallen (22) rounding out the top five.

But the night belonged to Smith who, as usual, owned the moment.

Even among such contemporaries, Smith stands out. (Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

Smith is that rare kind of genius. His gifts are so extraordinary his style is almost impossible to identify, let alone imitate.

Rivals often spend all week devising ways to attempt to shut him down only to see it mount to nothing.

Smith’s football intelligence is such he not only quickly identifies how rivals are playing him, he adjusts on the run and finds other ways to counter their strategy and remain equally as effective.

It is why he polled Dally M points in 15 of the 20 NRL games he played this season, including seven three point games. Teammate Billy Slater finished seventh in polling, on 19.

Smith is not only the best player in the NRL, he is arguably the best footballer of any code in Australia.

Nobody can claim to dominate their game like Smith, who is also the Australian and Queensland captain.

Teammates declare having Smith in the team is akin to having a coach on the field.

When Bellamy walked in to the dressing room at halftime in last week’s preliminary final against Brisbane he found Smith already had the team seated and, ahead 8-0, was addressing their shortcomings.

By the time Smith finished Bellamy needed to do nothing more, he later said, than throw in a few statistics to support Smith’s message.

Such is the power of Smith at the club.

Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy understands what his captain can do. (AAP Image/Julian Smith)

Rivals admit there is no way to stop his influence on a game. They just hope to contain it.

Against Brisbane last week Smith skipped out of dummy-half and kicked too long, the ball going dead in-goals.

He muttered a few profanities to himself, showing he is not perfect, and then did what he usually does and adjusted his game to flawless.

Originally published as Dally M Awards: Flawless Cameron Smith claims richly deserved second Dally M Medal