The Melbourne Storm have announced that star hooker Brandon Smith will depart the club at the end of the 2022 NRL season, following weeks of innuendo surrounding the 25-year-old’s future.
Long touted as the successor to Cameron Smith, the New Zealand international is set to link up with the Sydney Roosters after praising the club’s culture and personnel in a podcast appearance with YKTR’s Isaac John.
“I was just looking at the Roosters jersey … going, ‘I want to win a premiership in that jersey’,” Smith said.
“They want you to be set for life; they don’t want you to walk away with nothing from rugby league … They just pushed that.”
Smith is expected to remain in Melbourne for the entirety of next season, despite reports that his relationship with the club has become fractured, with his glowing praise for the Roosters not going down well with club executives.
“Recent comments made by Brandon in a podcast, and the way he expressed them, do not align with Storm’s values and the way we operate as a club,” CEO Justin Rodski stated in a club media release.
“The statements have deeply offended current and former players, coaches, staff and board members and the club strongly rejects the comments made about the Storm culture.”
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Smith made his NRL debut in 2017 and has gone on to win a premiership and represent his country, all whilst developing into arguably the game’s premier number-nine. With 86 first-grade games now under his belt, Smith is eager to take on more leadership responsibilities moving forward. With the likes of Josh Addo-Carr, Dale Finucane, and Nicho Hynes having already departed Melbourne for this season, Smith’s role at the club becomes even more vital.
Smith, who was crowned the NRL’s Hooker of the Year in 2021, will return to training next week in Melbourne. The Waiheke Island-native started at hooker in 22 of his 24 appearances this season, with Queensland rake Harry Grant set to take up the position full-time upon Smith’s departure. Fresh off a disappointing preliminary finals exit, the Storm are dealing with a mass exodus of talent that they have not experienced for some time.
