Cameron Smith vows to stay with the Storm
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billythekidslater
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http://www.theage.com.au/rugby-league/l ... -tq27.html
Smith vows to stay on and get Melbourne back on top GREG PRICHARD
April 28, 2010
CAMERON Smith has declared he will not leave the Storm as part of a fire sale of star players to bring the club into compliance with the NRL salary cap.
Asked yesterday if he would be staying at the Storm, Smith replied: ''Absolutely. It's really hard to see myself playing for another club. We [the players] spoke about pay cuts, and that's definitely an avenue we'd like to talk about, but whether that's the best way to go about things, I'm not sure.
''I'm committed to the Storm for another three years and I'd definitely like to stay in Melbourne, for sure.''
Smith and his teammates were still desperately clinging to the hope that the club might be able to keep the playing squad intact, even though the league, which allowed the Bulldogs players to take cuts when that club cheated the salary cap in 2002, is not prepared to allow that as an option this time.
News Ltd boss John Hartigan, in Melbourne yesterday, said the club would have to shed players to get back under the cap.
''Rugby league's a game where you form strong bonds with both teammates and coaches,'' Smith said on radio 2KY. ''And coming out and saying we're going to lose a couple of players, or lose several players, it's pretty hard [to accept].'' Smith said he was ''always of the understanding that my contract would be under the salary cap'', and that he and his teammates had never compared their deals.
''Our responsibility is to play football,'' he said. ''The rest is left to our administration to communicate things with the NRL, so that's the players' understanding.
''There's never a time when you sit in the locker room at training and go through each other's contracts, and sit there with a calculator and add it up. You know, everyone's aware of what the salary cap is and how much it is, but the players don't add up what each other is making and do the final amount.
''We trust the guys above us [at the club] and unfortunately we're in this situation at the moment. But I know we've got a strong club, and we've got some very strong people in it, and we're willing to work through this and try to get our club back to where it was.''
Smith said the players thought having two premierships stripped and the block on the team competing for this year's title was particularly harsh because the club hadn't signed a lot of established stars along the way to winning the 2007 and '09 titles.
''The stripping of the premierships is probably what is hurting the players and the club the most,'' he said. ''It's something we worked really hard for, you know, we don't feel that we went out and bought a premiership, or bought our premierships.
''The majority of our side has been playing for a long time together, and we've been here since we were kids. Most of us played our first first-grade game at the club, at 19 or 20, so we didn't go out and buy superstars, and when we won a premiership it took us a long time to get that.
''That's what's probably hurt us most, that something we worked so hard for has been taken away from us overnight.''
The Melbourne players stood behind coach Craig Bellamy when he read a statement last Saturday in which he said the Storm would fight back starting with the game against the Warriors at Etihad Stadium the next day.
It did that, winning 40-6, but Smith admits it is going to become increasingly harder for the players to keep producing when there are no competition points in it.
''The thing we need to look at is the future. We've got an opportunity to start fresh and try and get this club back to where everyone knows it should be, and that's the benchmark of the NRL, and that's what we need to look for.''
Smith vows to stay on and get Melbourne back on top GREG PRICHARD
April 28, 2010
CAMERON Smith has declared he will not leave the Storm as part of a fire sale of star players to bring the club into compliance with the NRL salary cap.
Asked yesterday if he would be staying at the Storm, Smith replied: ''Absolutely. It's really hard to see myself playing for another club. We [the players] spoke about pay cuts, and that's definitely an avenue we'd like to talk about, but whether that's the best way to go about things, I'm not sure.
''I'm committed to the Storm for another three years and I'd definitely like to stay in Melbourne, for sure.''
Smith and his teammates were still desperately clinging to the hope that the club might be able to keep the playing squad intact, even though the league, which allowed the Bulldogs players to take cuts when that club cheated the salary cap in 2002, is not prepared to allow that as an option this time.
News Ltd boss John Hartigan, in Melbourne yesterday, said the club would have to shed players to get back under the cap.
''Rugby league's a game where you form strong bonds with both teammates and coaches,'' Smith said on radio 2KY. ''And coming out and saying we're going to lose a couple of players, or lose several players, it's pretty hard [to accept].'' Smith said he was ''always of the understanding that my contract would be under the salary cap'', and that he and his teammates had never compared their deals.
''Our responsibility is to play football,'' he said. ''The rest is left to our administration to communicate things with the NRL, so that's the players' understanding.
''There's never a time when you sit in the locker room at training and go through each other's contracts, and sit there with a calculator and add it up. You know, everyone's aware of what the salary cap is and how much it is, but the players don't add up what each other is making and do the final amount.
''We trust the guys above us [at the club] and unfortunately we're in this situation at the moment. But I know we've got a strong club, and we've got some very strong people in it, and we're willing to work through this and try to get our club back to where it was.''
Smith said the players thought having two premierships stripped and the block on the team competing for this year's title was particularly harsh because the club hadn't signed a lot of established stars along the way to winning the 2007 and '09 titles.
''The stripping of the premierships is probably what is hurting the players and the club the most,'' he said. ''It's something we worked really hard for, you know, we don't feel that we went out and bought a premiership, or bought our premierships.
''The majority of our side has been playing for a long time together, and we've been here since we were kids. Most of us played our first first-grade game at the club, at 19 or 20, so we didn't go out and buy superstars, and when we won a premiership it took us a long time to get that.
''That's what's probably hurt us most, that something we worked so hard for has been taken away from us overnight.''
The Melbourne players stood behind coach Craig Bellamy when he read a statement last Saturday in which he said the Storm would fight back starting with the game against the Warriors at Etihad Stadium the next day.
It did that, winning 40-6, but Smith admits it is going to become increasingly harder for the players to keep producing when there are no competition points in it.
''The thing we need to look at is the future. We've got an opportunity to start fresh and try and get this club back to where everyone knows it should be, and that's the benchmark of the NRL, and that's what we need to look for.''
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Stormtrooper9
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I was reading the exact same article, it's great signs for the club.
Cameron Smith is a leader by nature and in my opinion the heart of the club.
Great News !!
Cameron Smith is a leader by nature and in my opinion the heart of the club.
Great News !!
Craig Bellamy: "We ain't going anywhere"
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LESStar58
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Attaboy Cam. Nobody is more in the public eye besides Bellamy and Moodie. A true captain's knock.
[color=#400040]Melbourne Storm 2011:[/color] take your time, try not to forget, pay no mind to us... [color=#400080]WE'RE JUST A MINOR THREAT![/color]
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PurpleBlooded
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Great news, we need to try & keep a core group here. With this fire sale that is 'supposed' to happen, we need guys like Cam sticking around.
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mystormboys
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Just what I needed to hear. Good on you Cam you are a leader.