Newsletter

Cameron Smith’s future was debated in a heated journal fight on NRL 360

While the NRL waits with bated breath for Cameron Smith to finalize his plan for the future, the NRL 360 panel has argued fiercely over the NRL legend’s decision.

Craig Bellamy reportedly confronted Smith in terms of his gaming future with three of the game’s best hookers in Melbourne, with Harry Grant on loan to the Wests Tigers and Brandon Smith playing as understudy in the Storm.

Kayo is your ticket to the NRL Telstra Premiership 2020. Every game of every round Live & On-Demand with no commercial breaks during the game. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial and start streaming right away>

But there was some riot in the ranks when Brandon Smith reportedly told the Storm that he would seek a release if Cameron Smith continued to play.

Smith, the top scorer of all time and the most international player in the game’s history, is 37 years old and the champion slut has been rumored to be retired for years.

Although he has left the decision late in the last couple of seasons, he is not being afforded the same courtesy this season as the Storm seeks an answer with a flurry of highly skilled players behind Cameron.

I am speaking on Monday Big sports breakfast, The daily telegraphPhil Rothfield said the storm was pushing for a call when “Bellamy bailed him out on Tuesday last week and got him dressed and said,” Look, we’re getting closer. “Cameron said,” I really don’t know. “

However, at NRL 360 on Monday, Rothfield clashed with host Paul Kent, who urged the legend to make a decision.

Kent said that while Smith is “the greatest player we have ever seen,” he said it was hypocritical for the panel to slam clubs for poor management of the salary cap every week.

“It’s not a personal matter, Ben,” said Kent. “Everyone makes it clear that it is a personal matter. The fact is that eight weeks ago, seven weeks ago, he would make his decision in three weeks. In Harry Grant and Brandon Smith there are two very practical footballers whose future depends on this decision.

“And Grandpa Smith sits there knitting and keeping everyone in check. I understand Cameron will retire at some point and if he makes that decision, it will be his decision. But in the age of the wage cap, you don’t have the luxury of making a late-season decision.

“For example, if Cameron waits until the end of the season and says I’m done, Melbourne will have the greatest part of $ 1 million in its fixed salary cap and when it comes to the point where he says that It’s me I can’t do that millions of dollars can’t be spent on like. You can’t even win two high profile $ 500,000 players at the end of the season. If he loves the club as much as he says he loves the club, make a decision to benefit the club. “

But Rothfield hit back at Kent’s suggestion and sparked a violent exchange.

“Kenty, I think you’re disrespectful,” he said.

Kent fired back, “What a trash buzz”.

“The grandpa business,” he replied. “It’s disrespectful.”

Kent: It’s not disrespectful, maybe he should show some respect for the storm.

Rothfield: “When Allan Border and Shane Warne retired from the Australian cricket team, did we set a time limit?”

Kent: “Buzz, totally different, cricket has no salary cap. Brandon Smith’s manager has already gone to Storm and has said that if Cameron plays next year then we want permission to apply for a release and Harry Grant has a clause in his contract that says if Cameron plays for Storm in 2021 he can he’s negotiating somewhere. You have two players, one is already a playtest, the other has the potential to be a playtest, both of which are sitting there. “

Kent added that teams like the Cowboys missed Kalyn Ponga because the club held out money to keep Johnathan Thurston.

Rothfield bit back again.

“The Storm has previously announced that two pay cap scenarios will be in place when the decision is made. And it’s not about the Titans trying to pinch him or the Broncos trying to get him to mentor the young players. It’s about a man who really doesn’t know whether to give it away or not, ”he said.

Kent pointed out that Smith waited outside Queensland Origin’s warehouse for up to two weeks to withdraw from the country of origin.

He added that there is a board meeting at which the club will seek a response from Smith, with Kent saying the club is “frustrated”.

Fox Sports’ James Hooper then stepped into the fight, revealing that text messages were circulating that Smith would notify his teammates after the Sea Eagles game on Sunday afternoon.

Ben Ikin, co-host of NRL 360, said he believed Smith was fresh and ready to go around for another season.

“Let’s just say he wants to keep going and he’s worried about the club. He doesn’t want them to lose Brandon Smith or Harry Grant. That would certainly be confusing,” said Ikin. “If you feel, and he probably deserves the right to choose, that he wants to move on for another year, this is why this decision is difficult. He’s ready to go again, he’s ready to play another 12 months. “

Ikin even suggested that Smith could announce that he will not be in Melbourne next year, but rather retire and go to the open market.

.

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Trending