Photo fuels speculation about Cameron Smith bombshell move

A seemingly harmless photo of Cameron Smith has sent the NRL rumour mill into overdrive, with the veteran poised for a bombshell move.

Cameron Smith with the Mudgeeraba Redbacks Junior Vice President.

Speculation about Cameron Smith’s future has escalated after the NRL icon was spotted training on the Gold Coast on Tuesday morning.

As reported by NewsCorp’s Travis Meyn, Smith was seen kicking a footy around at Firth Park in Mudgeeraba as rumours of an 11th-hour deal with the Gold Coast Titans swelled in volume.

Despite the speculation, the Titans declared they have not had any contact with the Queenslander, according to the report.

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Smith relocated to Queensland with his family after the Melbourne Storm secured the 2020 NRL premiership in October.

The 37-year-old’s contract with the Storm expired last year, and he is yet to publicly confirm his future plans for the sport.

But after four months of silence from the veteran hooker, a retirement announcement appears increasingly unlikely.

Cameron Smith of the Storm.

The Mudgeeraba Redbacks posted the seemingly harmless photo of Smith to their Facebook page, captioned: “Our Junior Vice President bumped into the legend himself Cam Smith down at the web today. How brilliant is it to have this legend living in our city and just kicking the footy around on a beautiful sunny day.”

On Tuesday afternoon, ABC commentator Zane Bojack tweeted: “Hearing very strong rumours that Cam Smith has signed with @GCTitans … however club denying this is the case. Very interested to see how this plays out.”

In January, Fox Sports journalist James Hooper reported that Smith was spotted at a Gold Coast Titans under-19s trial with Titans coach Justin Holbrook and new recruit Tino Fa’asuamaleuai.

Nine News sports reporter Dominique Loudon tweeted on Tuesday afternoon: “Just spoke to Titans. .. they’ve assured me the enigma that is Cameron Smith will NOT be at this afternoon’s announcement. In saying that, he should feel free to rock up to say what’s going on.”

Solved. Forget the @GCTitans.

Cam Smith is signing for the mighty Mudgeeraba Redbacks. #attheweb #doneanddusted pic.twitter.com/rwLo8mceE3

— Ed Jackson (@edjacko) February 16, 2021

Cam Smith is entitled to do what he likes but I can't believe he hasn't made a call on retirement yet.

Can you imagine the fervour if Gary Ablett was training on his own and considering his future six weeks out from the season?

— Tim Michell (@tim_michell) February 16, 2021

Smith has played 433 games for the Storm since making his NRL debut in 2002, also featuring in 98 representative matches for Queensland and Australia.

He is the highest NRL points-scorer in history, surpassing Hazem El Masri’s record in April 2019.

Last week, rugby league legend Mark Geyer said he had “a pretty tight feeling” on what Smith’s next move would be.

“I’ve got an inkling that if the Titans come out of the blocks in a pretty solid way, I’ve got a pretty tight feeling that he might want to be a part of that. I think he wants to be part of the Titans,” Geyer told Triple M’s The Rush Hour.

“I don’t think he will start. His fitness has all been around using ropes, his core strength is second to none, which gives him the advantage over everyone else.

“Apparently he can go on a rope for like an hour, whereas you try to do it for 45 seconds and see how hard it is.

“He is a freak of an athlete. I would like to see him go to the Titans, do like a Tom Brady type situation.

“The worst they could do is come out and (win) zero from four, because I don’t think Cam Smith would like to finish his career coming second or third last.

“He wants to be competitive, he’s been competitive his whole life and he doesn’t want to lose that feeling.”

Cameron Smith of the Storm.

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Storm coach Craig Bellamy was also unsure about Smith’s future, admitting he “wouldn’t like it” if the superstar switched clubs.

“Like I’ve said all along, whatever is right for him and his family I’ll back them up all the way,” Bellamy told The Daily Telegraph in January.

“If he ends up playing with another club and he believed that was the best thing for him and his family, then that’s great and I’ll go along with that knowing we’ve had the best out of him for the longest period of time.

“No one would begrudge what decision he comes up with.”