Cameron Smith almost quit NRL over diamond ring furore

Cameron Smith has revealed he wanted to walk away from the NRL on the spot after his wife’s diamond ring sparked a bitter falling out.

Dirty Dancing Red Carpet. Cameron and Barb Smith. Picture: Julie Kiriacoudis

Storm legend Cameron Smith has revealed he was close to walking away from the NRL last year over the diamond ring furore that plagued his finals campaign.

Smith made the revelation in his new autobiography, where the 37-year-old divulges details about the biggest controversies in his career, including his reported falling out with former teammates Cooper Cronk.

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While Smith has endured plenty of dark days in rugby league, including his grand final loss to Cronk’s Roosters, the Storm’s salary cap cheating scandal and the tragic incident that left former Newcastle star Alex McKinnon a quadriplegic.

However, Smith reveals in the book that the closest he came to retiring was last year when his wife Barb became embroiled in the diamond ring saga that followed his 400th game.

The first player in the history of the game to reach the milestone, Smith was last year honoured in an NRL gala event and was also presented with a crystal trophy by former chief executive Todd Greenberg after his milestone match.

Melbourne Storm Captain Cameron Smith poses with a special custom-designed crystal football after 400 NRL games.

However, it was the gift of a diamond ring from the NRL to Barb Smith that dominated the headlines for weeks after the match with the NRL failing to justify the expense during a time when many junior leagues clubs were crying out for funding.

The Daily Telegraph first reported the ring actually cost the NRL much more than the $5000 claimed by officials.

When the criticism became personal towards Barb, Smith says she offered to return the jewellery. Seeing his wife drawn into the scandal was very nearly the end of Smith’s career.

She eventually kept it and even wore the ring to ANZ Stadium to watch Smith’s Storm win the 2020 NRL Grand Final over the Panthers.

“It was claimed the money could have been better spent on grassroots football,’’ Smith wrote in the book.

“I could not believe what our game had become. This had overstepped the mark. And Barb was devastated.

Melbourne Storm Captain Cameron Smith is kissed by his wife Barbara Smith as he leaves the field after becoming the first player to reach 400 matches.

“Things were getting out of control and it forced me, at the end of the 2019 season, to ask myself some serious questions. Should I walk away from the game? Or keep playing and put my family through this unwanted scrutiny.’’

The ring scandal continues to bubble away more than 12 months later with revelations this year that the story caused a brief rift between Smith and his long-time mentor Craig Bellamy.

The split was caused by Smith’s reported belief that Raiders coach Ricky Stuart leaked the story about the diamond ring to the press.

The Daily Telegraph’s Phil Rothfield wrote recently Smith blamed Stuart for leaking the story before the Storm played the Raiders.

It left Smith fuming when Stuart came into the Storm’s dressing room after the game to share a beer with Bellamy, his long-time colleague.

“Off to the side, Smith sat incensed. For reasons that can only be attributed to a distorted sense of paranoia, he believed the ring story was planted by Stuart in an attempt to unsettle him,” the report claimed.

It’s why the Storm’s win over the Raiders in the grand final qualifier this year would have been so sweet for Smith.

After tasting grand final victory yet again, Smith is still yet to announce his future and remains without a contract for the 2021 season.