Qld Origin legend Cam Smith unveiled as junior footy coach
NRL superstar Cam Smith has made a major - but surprising -new move, unveiled as the coach of a struggling Gold Coast junior footy club.
Local Sport
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Opponents of the Currumbin Eagles U15s rugby league team had better look out in 2024 - their new coach has been unveiled as none other than NRL legend Cameron Smith.
The former Melbourne Storm, Maroons and Kangaroos great will carry the clipboard for the side in this year’s Gold Coast junior rugby league competition.
Smith moved his family to the Glitter Strip after retiring from the NRL in 2020 and signed up his son Jasper with the Eagles, where former Melbourne Storm teammate Matt Geyer is the A-grade coach.
Currumbin Eagles president Clint Isemonger said Geyer had been instrumental in helping lure Smith to the club and with Jasper now playing in the U15s, the former Storm skipper had agreed to step up from sideline supporter to coach.
“They’ve been a struggling team for a couple of years but hopefully with Cam on board, it will give them some confidence and a good skills base,” Isemonger said.
“It’s been great having Cam around the club - he’s a really nice bloke and obviously a legend of the game. Hopefully his playing skills translate to his coaching and the kids can win a few games.”
Smith’s appointment has fans of the Eagles - a club which has produced NRL stars including Xavier Coates and Jahrome Hughes - pumped.
“Be 100s of kids trying out for (the Under) 15s next year,” one supporter wrote after he was announced as coach on the club’s Facebook page.
“Wow, imagine (getting) Smith as a coach … I reckon he would be better than half the NRL coaches,” another commented.
Geyer said snaring Smith was a massive coup for the Eagles and even “blind Freddy” could see his star power helping pull new players.
“I can see there’s a lot of interest in why Cam’s coaching but the bottom line is that he’s like thousands of other parents who just want to be involved with their kids’ sport, and the best way to do that is as a coach,” he said.
“He just loves his footy and being part of the little community we’ve built here at Currumbin.
“He’s run water for me a couple of times and his wife Barb is on the committee and doing great things for the club and the community.”
Geyer said he’d welcome Smith into the A-grade side with open arms if he ever decided to lace on the boots again.
“Most players get to their late 30s or 40 and they’re pretty much over the hill, but Cam won an NRL grand final at 37 - so if he was ever a chance of making a comeback, I’d certainly be knocking on his door,” he said.
Smith was heavily touted for a possible playing role with the Gold Coast Titans after he left the Storm following their 2020 premiership win, but he ended up retiring from the game.
He and his family - wife Barb, and children Jasper, Jada and Matilda - settled on a sprawling acreage property in the Gold Coast hinterland.
Logan-born Smith played a record 430 games with the Storm where he also won three premierships and two Dally M medals.
He played 42 State of Origins and captained both Queensland and Australia.
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