Calm Maroons captain Cam Smith puts us all at ease

THERE is something about the presence and calmness of Cameron Smith that makes me feel like Queensland is in safe hands.

THERE is something about the presence and calmness of Cameron Smith that makes me feel like Queensland is in safe hands.

It's something I've always felt, going back to his Origin debut in 2003.

That was the last game of the series, my final Origin game. I was captain of the Maroons and Wayne Bennett had named this 20-year-old hooker from Melbourne for his debut.

When you're captain, you want to make sure all the players in your team are all right.

After the last session I liked to see how the rookies were feeling and say a few words to make them feel more confident.

I asked them about their week. How they were feeling. I just wanted to see where their mind was at, whether they were nervous or even too focused.

Origin is so intense you can waste energy if you play the game in your head too much.

I wanted to give the player confidence, throw all of my support behind him and hopefully when I walked away, know that I have given him self-belief for the game ahead.

I don't remember exactly what I said to Cameron, or what he said to me, but all I know is that I walked away with more confidence than I could have possibly given him.

I remember walking away thinking this kid, and he was a kid back then, just really impressed me.

I had played 10 years of Origin and was chatting to a rookie who had done a few sessions, had not even spent 10 days in camp, and I walked away from our conversation with such ease and without a question in my mind about whether he'd do his job. That showed me what a special player he is.

You wish every player you ever dealt with could instil such confidence and that you could sleep as easily as I did that night knowing he was in my team.

Ten years down the track he is doing the same thing as captain for Queensland. I am sure he is giving that same self-belief to all those young guys beneath him.

We only have to look at last year at how Queensland held their nerve to win the series to know this team is in good hands. In the heat of the moment we just did not panic.

I was sitting in the stands and I started to get butterflies, my stomach was churning thinking "here come NSW, this is their moment".

Then Cam took control. He got the forwards rolling again and exactly where they needed to be for Cooper Cronk to slot that field goal. They did not wait until it was too late. They struck early and backed themselves to defend the narrow lead until the end.

I know whatever decision Cameron Smith makes will be the right one for the team.

Gorden Tallis appears on Matty Johns On Monday Night from 9pm on Fox Sports 1.8