Tim Smith stars in Brisbane Broncos victory over Melbourne Storm
By Damien Stannard
February 14, 2010 It was more a snapshot than a master class but the first glimpse of Tim Smith's return to the NRL will be hard for Brisbane Broncos coach Ivan Henjak to ignore.
The former Parramatta star looked assured in the No.7 jersey as his new teammates scored a 24-12 win in their trial match against Melbourne Storm at Rockhampton's Brown Park.
About 3500 people watched the comeback.
In isolation, his exaggerated handclapping and skipping meant little.
But it was evidence of a confident man ready to lay down a challenge to incumbent halfback Peter Wallace.
Stand-in coaches Anthony Griffin (Brisbane) and Tony Adam (Melbourne) could be excused for thinking they were at the helm of their clubs' under-20 teams.
Griffin would have been pleased with Josh Hoffman who should be the man to replace Karmichael Hunt at fullback.
And giant prop Matthew Britt's velocity and work rate was a handful for the Storm.
For Melbourne, few questions were answered ahead of the World Club Challenge against Leeds on March 1.
Sloppy ball control meant the premiers could be judged only on their defence.
Smith's first steps back in the NRL after almost 650 days in the wilderness looked promising.
After signing a two-year deal with Queensland Cup club Easts, the Gold Coast product had been given a chance by Henjak to show he was not a lost cause.
His battles with alcohol and bipolar have been well documented so he put a media ban on himself and worked tirelessly to prove his substance.
