NRL great Cameron Smith has given a hint that his days at the Melbourne Storm are over, but the 37-year-old wants to keep on playing.
Smith produced another stellar campaign in the COVID-19 affected NRL season, guiding the Storm to a premiership title, topping Penrith Panthers 26-20 in the Grand Final.
But the Melbourne club has two hungry rakes looking to stamp their mark on the competition in Harry Grant and Brandon Smith, and the former Kangaroos skipper indicated he won't stand in their way any longer.
Kiwis international [Brandon] Smith has established himself as one of the best impact players in the NRL, but has indicated he would look elsewhere if he is set for another season off the bench. Meanwhile, Grant had a great season on loan at the Wests Tigers, and will make his representative debut for Queensland in the State of Origin decider next week.
And for [Cameron] Smith, jeopardising the future of the only club he has ever played for, isn't worth hanging around for one more season.
"There’s no way I’m re-signing for another 12 months if the club is going to lose either Harry or Brandon," Smith writes in his autobiography released on Sunday.
"I don’t want to see the club struggle in the long term just so I can play one more season.
"I was well aware of Brandon Smith’s and Harry Grant’s situations.
"And I knew that if I chose to play on in Melbourne, it would be hard for the Storm to retain all three of us, even though the club had said time and time again that it could.
"I appreciated that Brandon and Harry were building careers of their own. Brandon has established himself as the New Zealand No. 9, and Harry played 2020 with the Wests Tigers, where he had a standout season."
But the future rugby league 'Immortal' isn't slamming the door shut on a potential one-season stint at another club.
During Grand Final week, Smith spoke of wrestling with the retirement demons, but couldn't commit to ending his career just yet.
"I've spoken to a few of my ex-team-mates that have now retired and they've told me that it was just one day they woke up and in their mind they didn’t want to do it anymore.
"That was the reason they knew it was time to finish up, but I haven’t had that feeling yet."
The Queensland native has been heavily linked with the Gold Coast Titans, where his former mentor Mal Meninga is heavily involved in player recruitment.
Fox Sports reports Smith and his wife Barbara are inquiring about property in the area, while his children attended school in the Gold Coast during the season, when the Storm were forced out of Melbourne under COVID-19 protocols.
The report says one of the enticing factors in the Titans' pitch to Smith is an almost immediate transition into the coaching staff under Justin Holbrook.
