Cameron Smith says he has no interest in a coaching career
He has been flagged as a future coach of the Maroons after a stunning Origin career, and Storm great Cameron Smith has revealed to Blindside what he thinks of the job.
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He has been touted as a future Queensland Origin head coach but Storm champion Cameron Smith has revealed he has no interest coaching at Melbourne or the Maroons.
Smith celebrated his 400th NRL game a fortnight ago and such is his remarkable footballing brain, it was widely felt that it would only be a matter of time before the 36-year-old moved into coaching in retirement.
During his tenure as Queensland captain, Smith spoke a number of times about his interest in coaching, but in more recent times, his desire for carrying the clipboard has waned.
League legends Peter Sterling, Darren Lockyer and Andrew Johns are examples of champion players who were flagged as great coaches but never followed that path – and Smith has adopted a similar mindset.
“To be honest, coaching doesn’t appeal to me, it really doesn’t,” he said.
“If I ever took on a coaching role, I’d want to be the best at it, just like anything else in life I’ve tried to do.
“I just don’t think I have the energy and commitment needed to be a great coach.
“I look at the way Craig Bellamy and his assistants operate (at Melbourne). They put a ridiculous amount of time into their work with analysing what we are doing at training, then they move on to watching the opposition and breaking down what they are doing so we as players are prepared for each team.
“I just don’t think I could devote that much time to coaching.
“I’ve given up the best part of 20 years of weekends. I’d love to have my weekends back. I want to wake up on a Saturday or Sunday morning and be able to walk down to the local cafe, grab a coffee, muck around with the kids then come home and enjoy watching the footy.”
Smith said if he was to one day re-unite with the Maroons, it would likely be as an assistant coach working one-on-one with a hooker or playmaker such as Queensland No.9 Ben Hunt.
“I could play a support role for Queensland,” he said.
“There’s no doubt I want to stay involved with the game. I have loved it since I’ve started playing so I always want to be a part of it, but in what capacity that is, I’m not too sure.
“I definitely won’t be a full-time coach. There’s so much pressure with coaching and playing 400 games I’ve felt that expectation and pressure for long enough.
“Guys like Peter Sterling and Andrew Johns are brilliant analysts on TV so maybe that is an opportunity for me post-playing, but right now I’m enjoying my football with the Storm.”
SAVAGE BLOW FOR TITANS
THE Titans’ nursery is under siege with the Raiders the latest NRL rival to raid the Gold Coast region after poaching a Palm Beach Currumbin sensation who has similar speed to Storm star Josh Addo-Carr.
In a blow for the Titans, Canberra have swooped on 17-year-old speed machine Xavier Savage, a PBC flyer who is one of the fastest teenagers in the country.
Savage is also a sprinting sensation who won the 100m Queensland junior athletics championships last year in a time of 10.95sec – almost as quick as Addo-Carr, who has been clocked at 10.6sec.
Savage’s highlights reel on Youtube is impressive stuff with the Queensland under-16s fullback or winger torching rivals with his blistering speed.
A Cairns product, Savage helped the Queensland schoolboys to their first national title in 10 years last week, scoring six tries in four games – prompting Canberra to secure him to a two-and-a-half year contract.
Titans culture chief Mal Meninga is determined to stop a talent drain on the Gold Coast and the loss of Savage, who will join the Raiders this summer for pre-season, is a huge blow.
Former Broncos winger and sprint sensation Denan Kemp spoke of Savage’s talent on his recent Locker Room podcast.
“Xavier is one of the fastest players in the game,” Kemp said.
“I ran 10.7 seconds (for 100m) when I was 16 but I was much lighter than this kid.
“If you run 11.2sec or under, you are an incredibly fast footy player.
“The way Savage moves he has great balance and he looks like a football player not just a sprinter.
“If this guy stays injury free and is mentally tough, he will definitely play NRL.”
CASH SPLASH FOR ARROW
NRL rivals have upped the ante in the battle for Titans and Queensland Origin ironman Jai Arrow.
Blindside can reveal Sydney clubs are prepared to offer Arrow more than $900,000 a season, such is their determination to lure the Maroons warhorse away from the Gold Coast.
We revealed last week that the Titans were putting together a massive five-year, $4 million deal – the most lucrative package in the club’s history – to ensure Arrow was the heart and soul of the Gold Coast until 2025.
But NRL rivals are not giving up without a fight and rate Arrow so highly they are considering nudging the $1 million mark to pull off a poaching bid.
Arrow cannot begin formal talks with other clubs until November 1, giving the Titans a valuable head-start in their quest to retain the former Bronco, who is regarded as a future Gold Coast captain.
Arrow’s preference is to stay at the Titans, but several clubs, including the Tigers, Bulldogs, Eels, Dragons and Sharks, are doing their best to blow the Gold Coast out of the water.
LEAGUE’S ACE IN THE PACK
RUGBY league has a remarkable habit of spreading its tentacles everywhere – even reaching the hallowed Wimbledon.
The famous tennis tournament witnessed history a fortnight ago when Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah (no, not Robbie Farah the Tigers hooker) became the first Colombian players to win a Grand Slam men’s doubles title at Wimbledon.
A key figure in their triumph was their strength-and-conditioning coach Jayson Mathiou, 25, who just happens to be the son of former North Sydney and Cowboys first-grader Jamie Mathiou.
Mathiou senior was previously the recruitment chief at the Gold Coast Titans, and currently works as the Roosters’ Queensland-based scout, having first spotted Maroons prop Dylan Napa and Kalyn Ponga.
“Being part of this team is a beautiful madness,” said Jayson with a laugh. “We are like family travelling the world. We have learned to know each other personally and professionally.”
OLD BOYS COMING BACK
RELATIONS between the Broncos and Brisbane’s Old Boys are improving. Broncos Old Boys chief Chris Johns was spotted in the Chairman’s Lounge at the Bulldogs-Brisbane clash at Suncorp Stadium last Thursday after a personal invitation from CEO Paul White.
Johns is working hard to bring together the past and present after staging a Old Boys BBQ with the current squad before the Canterbury clash.
TAGATAESE INSPIRING
BRONCOS veteran Sam Tagataese will be retiring from the NRL at season’s end but his community work helping kids with depression is inspirational.
Tagataese was recently touched by a tragic story after learning a 13-year-old Broncos fan attempted to take his own life a fortnight ago.
Tagataese visited the teenager’s school and presented the kid with a Broncos shirt, instantly lifting his spirits.
The teenager’s mum contacted Blindside to praise the Broncos and the efforts of good men like Tagataese.
“I can’t thank Sam and the people behind this promotional work,” Emma said.
“People like Sam are inspiring kids and they should be so proud for bringing a smile to my son’s face.”
WAVELL CELEBRATION
WAVELL High has forged a reputation as one of rugby league’s greatest schoolboy nurseries and the alma mater of NRL superstar Greg Inglis is about to celebrate a special milestone.
On Saturday, August 3, Wavell will hold their 60th anniversary bash at Kedron-Wavell Services club with special guests to include Wally “The King” Lewis and past students David Wright and former Titans star Ash Harrison.
Inglis has also been invited but may not attend following his recent stint in rehab. Wavell has produced a host of first-grade stars including former Broncos Kodi Nikorima and Adam Blair, and ex-Origin forward Darryl Brohman.
Tickets to the event can be purchased at wavellrugbyleague.com
MAL’S THE ANSWER
FORMER Maroons skipper and proud Logan product Cameron Smith believes Mal Meninga holds the key to rebuilding the Titans.
The Gold Coast are in crisis following the sacking of coach Garth Brennan, but Smith is adamant the club is in good hands following the appointment of NRL Immortal Meninga as Titans culture chief.
Smith knows Meninga’s influence well, with the pair being the key figureheads in the Queensland Origin team’s decade of dominance.
“The Titans have one of the most successful and respected people in the game in Mal Meninga so he has a good handle on what they need to do,” Smith said.
Asked what the Titans need to do to emerge from the doldrums, Smith gave some simple advice.
“The secret is there is no secret formula,” Smith said.
“There’s no real secret to what we’ve done at Melbourne. We’ve been working our butts off the whole time and being accountable on the footy field.
“The Titans have a good footy side and they can compete with anyone, but they need to work hard and build consistency off the field with their attitude and culture, and when you do that success follows.”
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