NRL 2024: Why Cameron Smith quit Queensland Maroons
NRL legend Cameron Smith dropped a bombshell on the Maroons by quitting the Queensland Origin set-up. This is why the legend walked away.
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NRL legend Cameron Smith has dropped a bombshell on the Maroons by quitting the Queensland Origin set-up.
Smith, 40, has informed Queensland coach Billy Slater that he won’t be a part of this year’s Origin series in a major blow to the Maroons’ hopes of winning a hat-trick of interstate crowns over NSW.
Origin’s most-capped player with 42 appearances, Smith has been a trusted lieutenant for Slater, who has ushered in a stunning new era with back-to-back title wins for the Maroons.
But the coaching dream team of Slater, Smith, Johnathan Thurston and Josh Hannay has been partly dismantled by the sudden resignation of the former champion hooker, who is keen to focus on family and his grassroots coaching commitments.
The departure of Smith is a blow to the Maroons given the esteem in which he is held by current Queensland stars, with Slater lauding the contribution of his former teammate and arguably the code’s greatest ever player.
“I don’t know if there’s anyone who has contributed more to the Queensland Origin team than Cam Smith,” Slater said.
“I’m extremely grateful for his contribution over the last two series.
“He’s done an incredible job which I’ve seen first hand inside the camp with all the players and coaching staff.”
Smith will be replaced by Matt Ballin, who ironically played his one and only Origin game in 2010 after ‘Ironman Cam’ suffered an injury on the eve of that year’s series opener.
As a proud Queenslander who has worked with the Origin team on game days as well as the state’s under-19s team, Ballin is well credentialed to take on a greater responsibility with the Maroons following Smith’s decision to step down.
A Kingaroy junior, Ballin boasts an impressive portfolio, having amassed 220 NRL games for Manly and the Tigers between 2007-17 before impressing Broncos bosses as a current assistant to Brisbane coach Kevin Walters.
Slater believes Ballin will be a successful replacement for Smith as the Maroons plot the downfall of the embattled Blues for a third consecutive series.
“I’ve seen a whole heap of value to what Matt brings to our game-day performance,” Slater said.
“I’m really excited to work alongside him and continue to help our players prepare to the best of their ability.”
Smith, who captained the Maroons during their record reign under Mal Meninga, answered an SOS to help rookie coach Slater following the resignation of Paul Green after Queensland’s heavy series defeat in 2021.
With Slater at the helm, the Maroons have been magnificent, outsmarting and outlasting the Blues in the past two series thanks largely to the tactical input of Smith, Hannay and Thurston.
“I’m very grateful to Billy and the QRL for the opportunity to be a part of the Queensland coaching team,” Smith said.
“It’s been a fantastic two series working with quality players. They’re quality people to work with and they’ve certainly helped me as a rookie assistant coach.
“I was lucky enough to represent the jersey many times but to experience it from a different lens as a coach, and being able to watch this new generation play the way they did and represent the state in the manner in which they did, was highly rewarding.
“This year I’ve decided to coach at grassroots level at the Currumbin Eagles.
“I feel it’s really important to get back to grassroots level because that’s where our next generation of players come from and I remember all the way back to my junior days playing at Logan Brothers, and just how important coaching is at that level.”
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