Cameron Smith claims wrestling is ‘good for rugby league’

Cameron Smith is back out in the media promoting his autobiography, and his latest comments are sure to split rugby league fans.

Cameron Smith speaks to the media at Suncorp Stadium on Monday. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

Cameron Smith has returned to his media tour and the Test legend has wasted no time lighting a fuse by declaring wrestling is good for rugby league.

Smith doubled-down on his polarising belief by saying “other coaches and clubs cannot sit there and single out the Melbourne Storm for trying to involve wrestling in the game.”

Smith has also declared that his playing future will be decided before Christmas.

After suspending his promotional caravan for his new book “for personal reasons” on Tuesday, Smith went to air on SEN Radio’s “Breakfast with Vossy” program.

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Cameron Smith is unapologetic about his role in bringing wrestling into rugby league. Picture: Grant Trouville/NRL Photos

Host Andrew Voss asked Smith; “Is wrestling good for rugby league?”

The Storm captain replied: “I think it is.

Voss then asked, ‘Is Cameron Smith good at the wrestling technique’, to which Smith replied: “Yes. It’s come about through a lot of hard work and a lot of training.

“This is why I hope people, particularly rugby league fans, pick up my book and have a read because it explains how the Melbourne storm were able to become such a successful side.

“And it’s not only because we’ve got a great coach and had some great players, we’ve put in a lot of hard work and we pay particular attention to small parts of the game that we felt would give us an advantage.

“I’m not trying to point the finger at anyone, but all I’m trying to outline is that the Melbourne storm and wrestling go hand-in-hand, according to a lot of fans and particularly the media and that’s fine and we’re happy with that because we’re not denying it.

“We practice it and we practice it really hard.

“Other clubs and other coaches and people involved in the game, they cannot sit there and single out the Melbourne Storm for trying to involve wrestling in the game.

“Everyone does it now, everyone practices it.

“It’s just that some clubs are better than others and we’ve been highly successful with our defensive techniques and it’s gone a long way to help us achieve what we’ve achieved over a long period of time.”

Cameron Smith and the Storm introduced wrestling to rugby league - and continue to work on their technique.

Smith’s latest opinion will spark a fresh round of debate over both he and the Melbourne Storm’s legacy.

His decision to suspend almost 30 interviews to promote his new book had led to criticism from some quarters that he had gone to ground following the dissection of controversial extracts that had been released in the last 48-hours, including the Storm salary cap scandal and his strained relationship with former teammate Cooper Cronk.

“I had some personal things to attend to yesterday and unfortunately that sort of compromised my opportunity to fulfil my obligations yesterday with a lot of the media outlets,’’ Smith said.

“I know it was a late change but I informed my management and Allen and Unwin and unfortunately it was just something that I couldn’t get out of and couldn’t change.

“There’s absolutely no way I’m ducking for cover, if you follow my career, particularly over the last three or four years, I’ve copped criticism plenty of times and I’d like to think I haven’t ran and ducked for cover any other time.’’

As for his drawn-out saga surrounding his playing future, Smith went on the record to say: “I don’t know.

“Over the next little bit, before Christmas that will be the time where I’ll have to make my decision about next year whether I’m playing or whether I’m not.

“Once I make my decision, I’ll let everyone know. “

The decision has led to criticism from some quarters that Smith has gone to ground following the dissection of controversial extracts that have been released in the last 48 hours, including the Storm salary cap scandal and his strained relationship with former teammate Cooper Cronk.

Originally published as Cameron Smith claims wrestling is ‘good for rugby league’