Cameron Smith to the Broncos: Jake Turpin happy for Storm star to join club
While hooker Jake Turpin stands to lose out if Brisbane snares Cameron Smith, the young gun has a surprising attitude to the club launching a bid for the Storm superstar.
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Brisbane rake Jake Turpin said he would have no issues if club hierarchy launched a big-money bid for hooking rival Cameron Smith to help rebuild the embattled Broncos.
While the likelihood of Smith leaving Melbourne seems remote, Broncos coach Anthony Seibold said he would consider signing the off-contract champion pending strategic discussions with Brisbane’s recruitment-and-retention committee.
Such a scenario would have direct repercussions for Turpin, who is Brisbane’s first-choice hooker and would have to be relegated to a secondary role if Smith decided to finish his career in Broncos colours next season.
But Turpin, who will return against Cronulla on Friday night after a two-month layoff with a fractured leg, said he would happily take a backseat role to accommodate Smith, his former Storm teammate, at Red Hill.
“If that’s what the club wants, that’s what they want,” Turpin said of the prospect of Brisbane chasing Smith.
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“I had one year with Cam down there at Melbourne playing at hooker.
“If he was to ever come up here (to Brisbane) it would put a few bows in my armour because I would learn so much from him.
“Every young hooker aspires to be Cam Smith and be as good as he is, if you are half as good as him you are going pretty good.”
The Broncos are crying out for experience and leadership and Turpin said the 37-year-old Smith, the NRL’s most-capped player with 422 appearances, would be the perfect recruit.
“For Cam to go to any club would be massive,” he said.
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“He is the ‘GOAT’ (Greatest Of All Time) in my eyes, so he would bring everything you need in a club.
“He would bring so much wealth of experience and he would definitely help any club he went to, including the Broncos.
“I don’t see him leaving the Storm, I think he will be a one-team player, but any club would love to have him.”
For now, Turpin is just relieved to be back in the Broncos’ No. 9 team after recovering from an injury he claims doctors hadn’t seen in Australian professional sport for three decades.
Turpin suffered a tibial plateau fracture against Parramatta in round three, a crack at the top of the shin bone where it meets the knee.
“I don’t know exactly how I did it, but the docs said they haven’t seen the injury in 30 or so years in sport,” Turpin said.
“It was pretty sore at half-time (against the Eels) but it was one of those ones where I thought I could get through it.
“After the scan, they said I had a fracture in my leg and the type of break, it usually only happens in car-crash injuries.
“Because they hadn’t seen the injury in so long in sport, some of the physios and doctors hadn’t dealt with it, they didn’t know the timeline for how long I would be out.
“It was a weird one, but it’s good to be back and I am looking to get out there and play as many minutes as I can.”
Originally published as Cameron Smith to the Broncos: Jake Turpin happy for Storm star to join club