Cameron Smith

Cameron Smith is a retired player most recently playing for Melbourne Storm.

Cameron Smith (born 18 June 1983 in Brisbane, Queensland) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who currently captains the Australian national team, the Queensland State of Origin team, as well as his National Rugby League club, the Melbourne Storm. An Australian international and Queensland State of Origin representative hooker, he has played his whole NRL career to date with the Storm with whom he won the 2006 Dally M Medal and the 2007 and 2009 NRL grand finals (Though these premierships were both stripped in 2010). He later won the 2012 NRL Premierships with the Storm. In 2007 Smith was awarded both the Wally Lewis Medal (as the State of Origin's player of the series) and the Golden Boot award (as the world's best international player). As of 2012 he is set to captain Australia and Queensland. He also shares the same birthday as fellow club, state and country teammate Billy Slater.

As a youth Smith was hooker for the Logan Brothers Junior Rugby League Club, Logan City, Queensland. There he attended Marsden State High School. After scoring 188 points for the Norths Devils in the Queensland Cup he moved up to the NRL with the Melbourne Storm club.

In 2003 the Queensland rugby league team were without a specialist hooker. After experimenting with different players in the position for the first two matches of the 2003 State of Origin series and losing both, Smith was named at hooker for the third match (and for the next six years no other player would wear the number 9 for the Maroons until this run of 19 consecutive Origins was cut due to injury). He was named the Melbourne Storm's rookie of the year in 2003.

In 2005 Smith was named the Melbourne Storm's player of the year. The following year he first represented Australia and won the Dally M Medal. In addition he was again named the Storm's player of the year. Smith led the storm to the 2006 NRL Grand Final. While the game was still in the balance he was forced from the field with injury, which the Storm's loss has been largely attributed to.

For the 2007 State of Origin series Smith took out both the Wally Lewis Medal for player of the series and Ron Mcauliffe Medal for Queensland player of the series. He was also named the Melbourne Storm player of the year.