Cameron Smith - Most Origin Wins

[Big Pete]

Cam Smith brought up win #20, the most of any Origin player in history.

He's been a fantastic player and without question the best Origin hooker of all time but just as a player, where does he rate amongst the greats in Origin? Top 5? Right next to the King? Perhaps greater?

 

[Mortician]

For me he is a step below the King, sharing it with Lockyer, Langer and Meninga. Certainly one of the best.

 

[Battler]

Best hooker of all time. I don't care about the arguments about how much the role has changed since the "good old days", in a more professional era, where the nine has so much more pressure heaped onto them, Smith has been the best by a long, long distance (despite the NSWRL, Farrah, and other so called "experts" trying to talk up others). When you take into account all that he does from a tactical and leadership standpoint, he is without doubt one of the best players of all time, in any position.

 

[Alec]

I cant imagine a hooker being better than him in the past.
No obe should really attempt to emulate him though. Just concentrate on the basics if you dont have the brain for it.
Spoiler: They dont have the brain for it.

 

[jarro65]

For me he sits at #3 .... behind #1 Lewis and #2 Lockyer.

He's the best dummyhalf in the game EVER !!!

Seriously talented player with the best football brain in the NRL.

 

[broncos4life]

For me he sits at #3 .... behind #1 Lewis and #2 Lockyer.

He's the best dummyhalf in the game EVER !!!

Seriously talented player with the best football brain in the NRL.

Yep, agree completely with this

 

[CaptainHook]

Steve Walters is/was the best hooker I've ever seen...then Cameron Smith came along. It's futile to compare players of different eras but Smith is probably the best there has ever been.

I have been thinking about Robbie Farah's comments last week about Smith not being a better hooker than he is. Here's a question: If Cameron Smith was from NSW would Robbie have ever played Origin?

I think not.

 

[Foordy]

Steve Walters is/was the best hooker I've ever seen...then Cameron Smith came along. It's futile to compare players of different eras but Smith is probably the best there has ever been.

I have been thinking about Robbie Farah's comments last week about Smith not being a better hooker than he is. Here's a question: If Cameron Smith was from NSW would Robbie have ever played Origin?

I think not.

He may have...








On Rugby League Live 2. Hell, Steve Michaels played for Australia in my season.

 

[Sproj]

Robbie Farah is a very good hooker, its just that Smith is the greatest ever, no shame being a very distant second there. Just wish Farah could understand that and stop making a fool out of himself when he makes claims like that.

 

[Rally Towel]

Robbie Farah is a very good hooker, its just that Smith is the greatest ever, no shame being a very distant second there. Just wish Farah could understand that and stop making a fool out of himself when he makes claims like that.

Pretty much all that needs to be said, really.

In fairness to Farah though, his point regarding the test team is valid. Prolonged success at Origin level has been a big part of incumbency for the Kangaroos. The best way for a player to enter considerations is to state their case in Origin. Players like Hayne and Morris are key examples of this theory at work.

Unfortunately for Robbie, despite being a very good player, he's a very clear second fiddle to Smith.

Regarding Smith's position amongst the all time greats, I didn't watch much (if any) footy as a kid, so can't comment on his comparitive worth against prior generations. In my experience, he's second only to Lockyer, and not by much either.

 

[Morkel]

But NSW won the series! That makes Farah the best hooker. And Reynolds better than Thurston. NSW's players this series are the best players to ever don a jersey! For one year.
#NSW logic.

 

[Broncoman]

When Steve Walters was in his prime how good was he compared to Smith?

 

[I bleed Maroon]

For me he sits at #3 .... behind #1 Lewis and #2 Lockyer.

He's the best dummyhalf in the game EVER !!!

Seriously talented player with the best football brain in the NRL.

Yeah pretty much, but I generally rate Locky higher than Lewis these days, but Lewis played in a much more savage game.

 

[broncos4life]

Nrl.com released there origin top 17 and farah got the 9 ahead of smith, in fact smith didn't even make the 17... Yep, sounds legit.

Although nice of them to let Laurie write some articles for them... He doesn't have anything to do for a year now

 

[Alec]

That article is full of retard.

Thurston in 6? OK, Reynolds wasn't particularly good, but Thurston was awful.

Farah over Smith.

Beau Scott, Jesus Christ, he was arguably the worst player of the series.

Sam Thaiday is apparently Thurston's protector now too, despite defending either on the right or in the middle.

 

[Big Pete]

Brady's team isn't that bad.

I picked a similar XIII over on LU, based on just the series and the positions played during the series...

1. Jarryd Hayne
2. Darius Boyd
3. Greg Inglis
4. Justin Hodges
5. Brett Morris
6. Johnathan Thurston
7. Trent Hodkinson
8. Paul Gallen
9. Cam Smith
10. Nate Myles
11. Beau Scott
12. Ryan Hoffman
13. Corey Parker

Didn't bother with the bench because it's basically the best four players who didn't make the team and I didn't care for it.

GI over Dugan because no matter how quiet GI was kept, he still had more of an impact than Josh.

Similar story with JT. By his own standards, JT probably had his worst series but it was still better than Reynolds who was pretty hopeless outside of Game 1.

Originally I had Farah in my team too on the back of a better performance in Game I and winning the series but really, Smith played better in Game II and III thus deserving the nod.

Neither backrow played all that well. You could almost give it to Guerra for his last 10 minutes but it was in a dead rubber and I've got a bias against that. For me, Scott had one job and one job only and that was to protect Reynolds which he basically did up until those final 10 minutes. I think his selection played a big part in the Blues taking the series and have no doubt that his selection correlated with JT having his worst series by his standards.

Thought the Hoffman selection was a joke but he was a big feature of their go forward through out the series and deserves the accolades.

 

[Mr Fourex]

I think Thaiday's 2 games are being a bit under-sold ....

 

[Big Pete]

Thaiday was lost in the shuffle in that sort of system as he played Lock one game and Second Row the other. I thought he played well though.

I also thought Hoffman played very well across the entire series and I was critical of his selection.