Parramatta halfback breaks alcohol ban
WAYWARD halfback Tim Smith presented a $1000 drinking fine to Ronald McDonald House on Wednesday - then headed straight to the pub.
Furious Parramatta officials last night decided to axe their problematic playmaker but delayed an announcement until meeting Smith this morning.
The Daily Telegraph can reveal Smith - who agreed to give up drinking just five days ago - had a long night on the tiles and was still at the Tollgate Hotel, North Parramatta, at 9am yesterday.
Concerned pub staff called club officials, asking them to come and collect the kid who was Rookie of the Year in 2005.
"We've had reports that Tim was out drinking, yes," Parramatta boss Denis Fitzgerald confirmed last night. "But until we meet with him tomorrow (Friday) I have nothing more to say on the matter."
Incredibly, the 22-year-old started his schooner assault only hours after presenting a cheque for his abusive and drunken tirade on a frightened family last week.
Should Smith have his NRL contract torn up this morning, as anticipated, it will represent one of the most staggering falls from grace in recent years.
Chased by 11 NRL clubs in his teens, the Runaway Bay product eventually signed with Parramatta, where he was quickly touted as a future superstar of the game.
"I followed the Eels when I was younger and I always wanted to play with Parramatta," Smith said at the time. "So from my perspective it wasn't that much of a tough decision to make."
However, the halfback who had Andrew Johns' posters on his wall as a youngster may now miss out on the chance to work alongside him at NRL level.
Only last week Smith was hit with a $1000 fine and ordered off the drink for a year after an incident in which he was so drunk he couldn't keep his pants up while swearing and intimidating a young family.
"We were shocked and numb," grandfather Charles Brincat said of the unprovoked tirade. "He could barely stand on his own two feet."
Rather than being isolated brain snaps, both these latest incidents form part of an ongoing tale of woe for the young man who was once being mentioned for Queensland and Kangaroo honours.
That image of the laidback surfie who rode a skateboard has taken a heavy battering thanks to his rapidly expanding rap sheet.
Last week Fitzgerald said the wayward No. 7 had been undergoing counselling for 18 months but had "slipped of the rails . . . and is very contrite".
But that excuse may no longer wash with the Eels boss, nor the legion of Blue and Gold Army supporters still waiting for their first premiership since 1986.
Embarrassingly, the Smith revelations came on the same day Parramatta Stadium Trust announced its plan to create a statue of Eels legend Ray Price.
Smith and his manager David Riolo failed to return calls from The Daily Telegraph yesterday.
Another Eels legend, Brett Kenny, has previously hit out at the club - declaring them partly to blame for Smith's disturbing behaviour.
Smith's sacking could have a dramatic effect on premiership betting as Parramatta are equal second favourites at $9 with TAB Sportsbet.
