‘It cut pretty deep’: Injured Storm star opens up on hellish 2022

The Melbourne Storm were the walking wounded in 2022, but one of their most important pieces has given fans some good news ahead of the new season.

Reimis Smith is tracking well for a round 1 return. Picture: NRL Images

While all the focus has been on Ryan Papenhuyzen’s pre-season trip to the US to get his body right, there’s another member of the Storm backline quietly plotting a return to the field after a horror run of injuries in 2022.

Melbourne started last season with eight wins from the opening nine rounds but managed just seven more victories from the remaining 15 regular season games after Reimis Smith suffered his first serious pec tear of the year.

The reliable right centre had formed a potent partnership with Jahrome Hughes and Xavier Coates on that edge, with the trio regularly making breaks from anywhere on the field.

Reimis Smith suffered his first injury in round 9. Picture; Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

But on the same day Papenhuyzen suffered a hamstring injury against the Dragons, Smith came off the field after 11 minutes and wouldn’t return for the rest of the season.

“The first time around was frustrating because it was early in the season and I was starting to find my feet,” Smith told the NCA NewsWire.

“It was obviously frustrating to tear my pec the first time, but I knew I had eight or 10 weeks to get it right, so I was always going to come back.

“But then eight weeks into my recovery, I tore it again. I felt comfortable, I felt strong and I had no issues at all leading up to it, so for it to completely rupture again was so disappointing.”

Smith had toiled hard with the rehab group for the next two months, but just when he was about to make his comeback, the 25-year-old suffered a major setback in the gym.

He was completing an exercise when the arrow heads that had been put in place during his first surgery all came apart, forcing him to go under the knife for the second time.

A freak setback forced Smith to miss the rest of the season. Picture: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

“I was training hard and doing so much extra work to get back, but it just happened in such a simple way,” he lamented.

“I was doing some lifting exercises – I think it was a dumbbell bench press – and the weights weren’t even that heavy.

“I’d done an upper body weights session the day before so I came to back it up to get movement in the pec, and I was feeling good so I pushed it a bit more.

“I’d done four sets of explosive push-ups so my chest muscles were a bit fatigued, but I felt really good. I was in the last set, went to push back up but I couldn’t get my body up.

“I felt it tear in the blink of an eye and I could feel the arrow heads that they’d put into my joint all come out entirely. It was a terrible feeling and I was so upset because I’d done so much hard work and put in extras that no one else had seen.

“It cut pretty deep because I was so close to getting back out there to help my teammates.”

The physical toll was matched by the mental anguish as Smith had to watch Melbourne’s patchwork backline suffer over the next few months as guys kept swapping in and out of the team.

The injury also cost him a World Cup spot, but things are starting to look a lot better.

Smith has been working hard at the Storm's pre-season camp in Geelong. Picture: Supplied

“I’ve got over it mentally when I was a bit timid and a bit hesitant doing certain exercises,” he said.

“I missed out on a fair bit last year and I use that as motivation to get myself right and to get back in the same position where I was playing first grade and pushing for an international jersey.

“There have been a lot of ups and downs at training, but I’m feeling strong and back into contact now without any hesitation. The more I do it, the more confident I get with my body.”

Smith is unlikely to be available for the All Stars match next month and says a return in the pre-season trials may be a bridge too far as he tries to recover in time for the round 1 game against Parramatta.

“It all depends on how it goes over the next couple of weeks,” he said.

“We’re in Geelong at the moment and these are two big weeks for me where I’ll do a lot of work and then we’ll reassess to see where I’m at.

“We might have to take a bit of a back seat and hopefully push for a trial game to get ready for round 1, or we might have to take it easy and wait for the start of the season.

“If I had an answer, I’d give it to you, but right now it’s up in the air.”

Originally published as ‘It cut pretty deep’: Injured Storm star opens up on hellish 2022