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EXCLUSIVE: Billy Slater explains why Cameron Smith has never won coveted award
Cameron Smith is often referred to as 'The GOAT' by his younger teammates.
His career has universal respect to the point that he has been described as "the greatest player I've ever seen"
by an Immortal with his own GOAT claims, Andrew Johns.
Yet in an era blessed by greatness, with the likes of Johnathan Thurston also a worthy candidate for the 'Greatest of All-Time' debate, the resume of Melbourne's legendary hooker has one glaring omission.
Cameron Munster of the Storm is congratulated by Cameron Smith after scoring a try (Getty)
A coveted individual award that is peer voted has never been won by Smith.
The Rugby League Players' Association's Players' Champion award has only been around since 2004 but its list of winners in its 16-year history is a veritable who's who.
But for the surprising nod for cult winger Akuila Uate in 2011 every player to have taken home the award was considered among the game's best players when they won it.
Jarryd Hayne won it in his famous 2009 season. Darius Boyd won it in the same season that he led the Dragons to a premiership and was the best player on the field in the grand final.
Ben Barba won it for his insane 2012 season that was packed full of ridiculous highlights, propelled the Bulldogs to the grand final and also won him the Dally M Medal.
Thurston, Smith's obvious rival for the tag of 'best player' of their generation, won the award four times.
Cameron Smith and Johnathan Thurston speak after a State of Origin game in 2017. (Getty)
Smith has been a model of consistency throughout the last 16 years and for most of that time he has been the captain of the game's most successful club, its dominant state and Australia. It's hard to think of a time when a player, teammate or rival, has openly questioned his legacy or disrespected his contribution to the game or his talent.
Yet his absence from the Players' Champion honour board clearly says that he's never had a season that has convinced enough of his peers that he was indeed the game's best player.
Few observers have had a closer view of Smith's career than his great mate and fellow legendary player Billy Slater and the former Storm fullback attempted to explain why the 37-year-old may have gone under the radar in voting despite his commanding presence.
Cooper Cronk, Johnathan Thurston, Cameron Smith, Billy Slater (Getty)
"It's quite hard to believe isn't it? He's won every other award," Slater told Wide World of Sports for
a panel show discussing the history of the Players' Champion award.
"I think it might have something to do with Cameron's best asset and that's his ability to make everyone else look good.
"He doesn't score tries very often and he doesn't make big explosive tackles, so therefore you don't sort of notice him a whole heap.
"He doesn't have five or six big wins in the game like tries or big hits or linebreaks. He has wins every single set of six. He's getting his side over the advantage line, he's kicking early, he's leading the line speed when they haven't got the ball, he's putting pressure on the kicker, so sometimes little Cameron Smith can go unnoticed and therefore he's at his most dangerous.
"I think that might have something to do with it with why he hasn't won this award but it's an intriguing sort of debate on why he hasn't, 'cause I regard him as one of the greatest players to ever play the game, certainly the greatest hooker.
"He's been ultra-consistent over probably a two-decade period but he's also stood up in those big games, the Origins, the Test matches and the grand finals."
Smith responds to retirement speculation
Smith responds to retirement speculation
Slater's assessment suggests that Smith's skillset is so subtle that even those on the field with him can't fully appreciate his impact on the result.
It's an incredible observation that in some ways contradicts the value players put on the award, with Peter Sterling explaining why it is so revered within NRL dressing rooms.
"Players are the best judges," Sterling told Wide World of Sports.
"They're out there, they're alongside for the 80 minutes, they see things that other people don't see. The little things that you do, the sacrifices that are made on the field. Your teammates see that and acknowledge that and a lot of that can be missed by people who aren't as closely involved or sitting up in the stands.
"They see the flamboyant, spectacular stuff but not the nitty gritty things that ultimately add up to be the most important things."
The history of the award: RLPA Players’ Champion
The history of the award: RLPA Players’ Champion
In his 19th season in first grade, Smith has led the Storm to within a game of the grand final for a sixth consecutive season.
He is still one of the greatest players in the game as he weighs up retirement but the absence of the Players' Champion trophy in his house must sting at least a little bit.
Told by Sterling that he could still win it this year, Slater replied with a smirk: "Or next year."
Even at 38, few would doubt that he could at least put himself back in the conversation.
The short list for this year's Players' Champion will be announced in the coming days, with Smith a possible finalist but trailing the likes of Panthers star
Nathan Cleary and
two-time winner James Tedesco for favouritism.
Wide World of Sports is a partner of the 2020 RLPA Players' Champion, with the winner to be announced in Nine's coverage of the grand final on Sunday, October 25.
https://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/camero...analysis/5fbca4b6-21fd-4c74-85fb-b4eb24565e5f
