Smith Shooting for Success at Cowboys
Friday, February 9, 2007 - 2:38 PM
Jason Smith has been one of the worlds very best Rugby League players since the 1990s and while fans continue to flock to grounds to watch the way he mesmerizes his opposition the new Cowboys pivot insists it is he who is in awe of his current team mates, deflecting attention from his own game and singing their praises.
Smiths arrival in Townsville has led to many fans of the game salivating at the prospect of the veteran five eighth lining up next to current test halfback Johnathan Thurston in what c=is a dream halves combination set to wreak havoc upon the NRL in 2007 and it is a combination which Smith is looking forward to being a part of.
I am definitely looking forward to it. I have been fortunate enough to play for the Maroons and Australia with some great halves like Ricky Stuart and Allan Langer but the chance to play club football with Johnathan is something I am excited about. We want to get some combinations going with Matthew Bowen to his play excites me.
We also have a good size forward pack to play behind and having a pack like the one we have should give Johnathan and I plenty of opportunities in attack.
While Thurston will provide plenty of spark and speed to the halves combination, Smith will provide an astute kicking game, brilliant ball playing and his own unique ability to look like he has an eternity to do anything with the ball in his hands.
The time Smith appears to have with the ball to set up the play is legendary and the man himself admits he is not entirely sure why he appears to have so much of it.
Im not sure what it is, and its a question that Todd Carney asked me last year at the Raiders, Todd came to me voluntarily but I wasnt sure myself so I asked Matthew Ellliott.
Anyway he came back to me with ten smaller things that he thought contributed to it and they included experience, carrying the ball in two hands and giving myself options as well as respect from my opponent. Basically we figured out there are around ten reasons why.
Having moved on to the Cowboys Smith looked back on his days as a Raider fondly and predicted that despite predictions they will win the spoon this year that the current Raiders side will have quite a bit of success in the years to come.
I had a couple of good years in Canberra and they were unfortunate that they had a lot of experienced players leave in the one hit, but in a way it will make the young guys coming through into stronger players a lot quicker.
Four or five of those players in the Canberra side could play for Australia, the two props Michael Weyman and Dane Tilse, Alan Tongue and Todd Carney all have big futures. I can see Todd playing for the Kangaroos whether its in the team with Johnathan Thurston or taking him on for the halfback spot. There is certainly a lot of talent at that club.
When asked about his goals for this year, Smith is adamant that winning the premiership with the Cowboys is what its all about in season 2007, and he is feeling ready for the challenge.
Winning the competition I think is definitely why we train for eleven months of the year, its to hold our trophy and to sing our song, to play and win a Grand Final is something every player wants to achieve whether it is your first year or your last.
While Jason Smith is getting older he feels good about his body and believes it can hold up to the rigours of NRL football, despite having some knee problems at the end of the last season.
Yeah I had a small operation where I had my knee cleaned out before I left Canberra and it took a bit of time to recover but training is going well.
I think no matter what age you are the training is hard at this time of year, although it is tapering off a bit as we head into the trials. After you reach 25 the training gets a bit harder but for me it has not really changed since then.
The payoff from the Cowboys off season training and Smiths inclusion will most likely be seen during the first round against the Broncos and having gone without a local derby in recent seasons Smith is hyped up for the challenge.
I am looking forward to that game. I played in a few derbies in England and before that for Parramatta against Penrith and for Canterbury we played some good ones against St.George, but to experience this one against the Broncos with what should be close to a sellout at Suncorp is something I am looking forward to.
Source: NRL
Friday, February 9, 2007 - 2:38 PM
Jason Smith has been one of the worlds very best Rugby League players since the 1990s and while fans continue to flock to grounds to watch the way he mesmerizes his opposition the new Cowboys pivot insists it is he who is in awe of his current team mates, deflecting attention from his own game and singing their praises.
Smiths arrival in Townsville has led to many fans of the game salivating at the prospect of the veteran five eighth lining up next to current test halfback Johnathan Thurston in what c=is a dream halves combination set to wreak havoc upon the NRL in 2007 and it is a combination which Smith is looking forward to being a part of.
I am definitely looking forward to it. I have been fortunate enough to play for the Maroons and Australia with some great halves like Ricky Stuart and Allan Langer but the chance to play club football with Johnathan is something I am excited about. We want to get some combinations going with Matthew Bowen to his play excites me.
We also have a good size forward pack to play behind and having a pack like the one we have should give Johnathan and I plenty of opportunities in attack.
While Thurston will provide plenty of spark and speed to the halves combination, Smith will provide an astute kicking game, brilliant ball playing and his own unique ability to look like he has an eternity to do anything with the ball in his hands.
The time Smith appears to have with the ball to set up the play is legendary and the man himself admits he is not entirely sure why he appears to have so much of it.
Im not sure what it is, and its a question that Todd Carney asked me last year at the Raiders, Todd came to me voluntarily but I wasnt sure myself so I asked Matthew Ellliott.
Anyway he came back to me with ten smaller things that he thought contributed to it and they included experience, carrying the ball in two hands and giving myself options as well as respect from my opponent. Basically we figured out there are around ten reasons why.
Having moved on to the Cowboys Smith looked back on his days as a Raider fondly and predicted that despite predictions they will win the spoon this year that the current Raiders side will have quite a bit of success in the years to come.
I had a couple of good years in Canberra and they were unfortunate that they had a lot of experienced players leave in the one hit, but in a way it will make the young guys coming through into stronger players a lot quicker.
Four or five of those players in the Canberra side could play for Australia, the two props Michael Weyman and Dane Tilse, Alan Tongue and Todd Carney all have big futures. I can see Todd playing for the Kangaroos whether its in the team with Johnathan Thurston or taking him on for the halfback spot. There is certainly a lot of talent at that club.
When asked about his goals for this year, Smith is adamant that winning the premiership with the Cowboys is what its all about in season 2007, and he is feeling ready for the challenge.
Winning the competition I think is definitely why we train for eleven months of the year, its to hold our trophy and to sing our song, to play and win a Grand Final is something every player wants to achieve whether it is your first year or your last.
While Jason Smith is getting older he feels good about his body and believes it can hold up to the rigours of NRL football, despite having some knee problems at the end of the last season.
Yeah I had a small operation where I had my knee cleaned out before I left Canberra and it took a bit of time to recover but training is going well.
I think no matter what age you are the training is hard at this time of year, although it is tapering off a bit as we head into the trials. After you reach 25 the training gets a bit harder but for me it has not really changed since then.
The payoff from the Cowboys off season training and Smiths inclusion will most likely be seen during the first round against the Broncos and having gone without a local derby in recent seasons Smith is hyped up for the challenge.
I am looking forward to that game. I played in a few derbies in England and before that for Parramatta against Penrith and for Canterbury we played some good ones against St.George, but to experience this one against the Broncos with what should be close to a sellout at Suncorp is something I am looking forward to.
Source: NRL
