Cheese on toast: Can Brandon Smith win back the support of Roosters?

If you were a cynical type, you’d almost think the story about the Sydney Roosters starting up a team in Los Angeles was dropped to divert attention away from whatever is going on with Brandon Smith.

The problem of what do with the erratic hooker won’t go away that easily.

For months, senior figures at the Roosters have wondered out loud if they made a mistake in signing Smith in December 2021.

Which is in stark contrast to how much they delighted at the time in snatching him away from Melbourne and getting under the guard of the Dolphins and Wayne Bennett.

Smith was fined $1000 earlier this week and dropped for the match against Parramatta on Saturday for failing to attend a team meeting after the shock loss to North Queensland earlier this month.

It was a sign that the Roosters had had enough. Clubs don’t just breach players for what Smith called a “complete misunderstanding” about a scheduled meeting.

Roosters coach Trent Robinson, hooker Brandon Smith and chairman Nick Politis.Credit: Getty/Bethany Rae

If the opinion of the senior players counts for anything, there’s no appetite for Smith to return any time soon.

I’ll tread carefully here because Smith has been receiving support from the club for well over a year for private matters that should remain that way.

Nevertheless, the Roosters have grown tired of his lack of discipline and the effect it’s had on his football. His ability isn’t in question, but his consistency from week to week is.

The club rolled out the red carpet to secure Smith: clandestine coffees with chairman Nick Politis, long lunches with directors, games of golf at Monash with the boys.

Roosters hooker Brandon Smith is losing the support of teammates.Credit: Getty

Their pitch was mostly about Smith’s life beyond football. A Rooster for life is set up for life. Now, there are questions about whether he’ll be there beyond this season.

The Roosters rarely get it wrong, but they should have seen the trouble with Smith coming. His reputation preceded him.

Sure, he’s a knockabout. As they say, he’s a character who goes by the nickname ‘Cheese’. He’s easy to like and laugh at. But you didn’t have to be Columbo to know he could be a handful.

There were concerns from the moment he was linked to the Roosters about how he’d handle the bright lights of Sydney instead of the relative anonymity of Melbourne.

Say Cheese: Brandon Smith was a fan favourite in Melbourne.Credit: NRL Photos

Part of Melbourne’s pitch to keep him was very much along those lines. The other part was coach Craig Bellamy and his special ability to allow extroverts to be themselves but not a disruption to his team.

Some at the Roosters are floating the idea that Melbourne had “hidden” Smith’s behavioural problems from them. The Storm confirmed that nobody from the club had phoned them in the name of due diligence, which surprises considering they were signing a player on a deal worth upwards of $900,000 a season because of the ratchet clause that kicks in due to the salary cap increase.

You can’t help but wonder how Bennett is viewing this from afar.

Smith met with him at Redcliffe Leagues Club midway through 2021. When reporters approached for comment, Smith dismissed his presence there with a funny grab: “I was just playing the pokies”.

He agreed to terms with the Dolphins on a deal worth $900,000 a season, only to fall for the Roosters’ charm offensive. The popular Sam Verrills was moved to the Gold Coast to fit Smith into the Roosters’ salary cap, while Bennett is still waiting for Smith to call and explain what happened.

The Roosters now find themselves in an invidious position: they have an underperforming and unreliable player, who his teammates aren’t thrilled about playing alongside, taking up a sizeable chunk of their salary cap until the end of next season.

It’s unlikely another club will want to take him unless the Roosters pay a significant part of his contract.

The best solution would be for Smith to regain the focus that saw him play the best football towards the end of last season as the Roosters surged into the finals. So far this year, it’s been bursts of 20 minutes here and there. He seems to run out of gas faster than any other forward.

Roosters officials were angry about Smith discussing his breach in length on The Bye Round podcast earlier this week, although he sounded like a player who knew he’d pushed things too far.

“I think you get three breaches [before being sacked],” Smith said. “It’s a warning but also a fine. If I get that second breach, I pay that fine. But you don’t want a second breach …”

Smith, Politis and coach Trent Robinson declined requests for comment.

Cotter honours late uncle

North Queensland co-captain Reuben Cotter punishes rival forward packs every time he steps onto the field, whether it’s for his club, state or country.

Canberra players might feel it a little more at GIO Stadium on Friday night when the 25-year-old honours his late uncle Dale for Beanie for Brain Cancer Round.

Cowboys forward Reuben Cotter with father Terry (left) and late uncle Dale (right).

Dale was diagnosed with an astrocytoma tumour in 2008 when he was just 24. He passed away in 2019, not long after watching Cotter make his NRL debut in a match against Manly in Townsville.

“He was given a couple of years to live but lived for just over 10 years,” Cotter explains. “I was lucky enough to get him in the sheds after I made my debut. He couldn’t really speak too much by then, but you could tell from the look on his face how important it was for him. It was emotional for my whole family that night. Not long after that, he passed away.”

Now in its 10th year, the Beanie for Brain Cancer Round has become an NRL institution, raising more than $30 million for the Mark Hughes Foundation that funds brain cancer research and patient support.

Mark Hughes delivers the match ball before the Sea Eagles-Roosters clash at Brookvale Oval last year.Credit: NRL Photos

Brain cancer stats are frightening: survival rates have increased by only one per cent over the last 35 years; it kills more children under 10 than any other disease; it kills more adults under 40 than any other cancer; only two out of 10 people diagnosed live more than five years; it receives less than five per cent of federal funding for cancer research; one person every five hours is diagnosed in Australia.

“It’s an important round, just not for us but everyone to raise awareness around brain cancer,” Cotter says. “It’s common and can sneak up on people. Dale was a healthy, fit, young man when he was diagnosed. He was important to our whole family and it’s a special round to honour him. He meant a lot to me and my footy.”

Dale is survived by his wife Rachael, son Drazic and daughter Lakita. He was a boilermaker in Mackay and heavily involved with rugby league in the region.

“You would never know that he was sick because he always put on a brave face,” Cotter says. “He’d take the piss out of himself and make it easier for those around him. He was a very strong man. We miss him.”

Beanies are available from all Lowes Australia stores, participating IGA Australia stores or online at www.markhughesfoundation.com.au

THE QUOTE
“I feel this year Hawk-Eye has been a little bit off – I don’t know why.” — English tennis player Emma Raducanu after her first win on a grass court since 2022. I’ve spoken to Hawk-Eye and it tells me this constant criticism hurts. I mean, it’s only human.

THUMBS UP
Former triathlete Alexa Leary nearly died after a catastrophic bike accident three years ago. Doctors doubted she would survive, let alone walk or talk again. She’s now headed to the Paris Paralympics after qualifying in the 50m freestyle. “She wasn’t meant to live, let alone walk or talk,” her mum Belinda said.

THUMBS DOWN
Leading Australian basketball players have rubbished the singlet they will play in at the Paris Olympics. Josh Giddey called it an “absolute joke” while Jock Landale said it “looks like we are off to throw javelin”. Now that’s what I call disrespecting the jersey! They were commenting on a photo replica of a retail shirt being sold to fans. Maybe worry more about what you do in the singlet and what it represents than how it looks.

It’s a big weekend for … NSW coach Michael Maguire as he nails down his team for Origin II at the MCG on June 26. To Latrell or not to Latrell? That is the question, among others. There are rumblings the Souths fullback will get the nod at left centre.

It’s an even bigger weekend for … Australia as they take on the might of Scotland on Sunday (AEST) in the T20 World Cup group match in St Lucia. You can whet your voracious appetite for international cricket a couple of days earlier when Afghanistan takes on Papua New Guinea on Friday. How good is that?

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