Storm skipper Cameron Smith leads charge when chips are down

HE is destined to finish his career holding every Melbourne Storm record and tonight Cameron Smith could reach another.

Cameron Smith

HE is destined to finish his career holding every Melbourne Storm record and tonight Cameron Smith could reach another after being the catalyst for reigniting his team's premiership campaign.

Last Friday week's gripping victory against the Broncos in Brisbane was the skipper's 163rd win in a Storm jumper, equalling Matt Geyer's record.

Smith will go ahead if Melbourne beats Cronulla tonight, and with a 70 per cent winning rate through his 233 games.

It's not a category on the club's honour boards, where Smith's name already features nearly 30 times, but is indicative of a leader who, in the past month, has urged his team out of its form slump through his relentless on-field efforts.

As the best hooker in the game, Smith is not a great runner of the ball, but when Melbourne endured a five-game losing streak, it was the captain who grabbed the ball and said "follow me".

In the past seven weeks, since missing the horror show that was the loss to Canberra in Round 16, Smith has nearly doubled the amount of ground over which he has carried the ball.

His average has gone up from 52m a game to 92m, and he has gone through the 100m barrier three times, a rarity for Smith, while still making 41 tackles a match.

And while coach Craig Bellamy conceded there was some planning in Smith's increased running, the rest was leadership.

"He's done quite a remarkable job the past six weeks. His figures are up, but he hasn't wasted his runs ... he only runs if he has a genuine chance to do something for the team," Bellamy said.

"Certainly I think the other thing with Cameron, throughout that bad patch, at some stage he said, 'Well, I'm the captain, and if we're going to get out of this, I've got to lead the way'.

"I think there was a fair bit of that in there.

"That just goes to show what a great leader he is and he has a genuine care for the team and the club, to take it upon himself to say, 'I'm going, boys. Who's coming with me?' He has been tremendous."

A similar effort will be required tonight against the Sharks, who Bellamy said "don't go away" and show traits he enjoyed seeing in his team.

"They're a resilient type of side. They're tough ... they keep hammering away and they've got a bit of class that helps them out in tough periods," he said.