Cameron Smith has played more professional games and scored more points than any other rugby league player since 1908, but many football fans were furious after the Melbourne Storm great was inducted into the NRL Hall of Fame on Wednesday night.
Smith, 41, retired months after winning a championship in 2020 but his failure to acknowledge Melbourne cheated under the salary cap during his decorated NRL career still rankles countless supporters.
“Cameron Smith should not be eligible for Immortal status until the NRL explains to the Rugby League world why his wife was given a diamond ring… once they explain it to us all then it can be debated,” one X tweeted.
A second didn’t mince words, posting: “Cameron Smith is a stain on the sport, he should never be in the running to be an Immortal. He and his Storm teammates signed two contracts… (they) should never be anywhere near these accolades. They cheated to keep a great team together, which benefited them all substantially.”
A third added: ‘No Storm player or coach should be allowed into HOF/Immortal status until they publicly admit they cheated and the club stops this nonsense of defiantly celebrating titles that were stripped from them.’
A fourth angrily chimed in: “Yes, the food of all time.”
While Smith and his Melbourne teammates have been cleared of any personal wrongdoing by the NRL, fans have seized on the fact the champion hooker signed two playing contracts with the club as he cheated on the salary cap.
Smith admitted doing so but said one was an NRL contract and the other was a deal to keep him at the Storm, and denied he was ever told about payments made outside the salary cap.
Cameron Smith has played more professional games than any other rugby league player since 1908, but many football fans were unhappy after the Melbourne Storm great was added to the NRL Hall of Fame.
Smith, 41, retired months after winning a title in 2020 but his lack of remorse for Melbourne’s salary cap cheating during his decorated career still rankles countless supporters (pictured with wife Barbara at the Hall of Fame gala).
Despite a remarkable career, Cameron Smith (pictured at the 2020 NRL Grand Final) remains a highly polarising figure.
The fact that his wife Barbara was gifted a diamond ring by the NRL in 2019, believed to be worth $15,000, during a private honorary dinner to celebrate Smith’s 400th NRL appearance, has also infuriated fans.
Last year, Smith defended the Storm for celebrating their 25th season by bringing out their 2007 and 2009 championship trophies during a pre-game ceremony to mark the occasion.
Responding to fan criticism, Smith was unrepentant, saying, “They wouldn’t understand how we feel about it.”
“What I want to convey is that I can understand why this upset a lot of people and that’s fine, as long as those people can also recognise that I don’t think they understand at all how Storm people felt in that period,” he said.
Melbourne lifted the trophy in 2012, 2017 and 2020 when it met salary requirements.
In 2010, then NRL boss David Gallop condemned the club after an audit found the Storm had been operating two sets of books to conceal breaches from salary cap auditor Ian Schubert.
“This system has allowed them to attract and retain some of the biggest names in rugby league. In doing so, they have let down the game, the players and the Melbourne Storm fans,” Gallop said at the time.
‘It would be unfair to the players and fans of all the other clubs in the competition to allow the Storm to retain the trophies they have won.’
In 2019, at the official launch of the NRL season, Smith controversially stated that Melbourne should regain its two championship titles from 2007 and 2009.
This football fan doesn’t think Smith should be in the Immortal conversation after ‘knowingly signing two different contracts’
Another follower brutally labeled Smith a “pest to the sport” on X
A 2022 Melbourne Storm graphic incorrectly claimed the club had won five NRL championships, angering some football fans.
Craig Bellamy and the Storm lifted the NRL trophy in 2007 (above) and 2009, but were stripped of both titles in 2010 due to salary cap breaches.
This followed Cronulla emerging from their own salary cap scandal without losing their 2016 NRL title.
“The clear difference for me is that there’s quite a bit of time spent gathering all the evidence, the emails, all that sort of stuff,” Smith said in comments that angered many fans of rival NRL clubs.
‘In terms of looking at what happened at Cronulla and having the understanding of what I know happened at our club, it sounds pretty similar… however, they made us play a whole season without points (2010) and took away (two) championships from us.
“It’s almost like the same crime or a similar one with a completely different punishment.”
Smith also said the club’s inner circle recognised the Storm had won five NRL championships.
The club further infuriated fans by posting a graphic listing titles won in 2007 and 2009 in a social media post marking manager Craig Bellamy’s 500th game in charge of the team.
