Cameron Smith

The only player to have played over 400 premiership games, Cameron is a Rugby Immortal in waiting. A winner like no other, he is also the NRL’s top point-scorer, having scored 2786 points throughout his career.  He is arguably the greatest player of the modern era, captaining Melbourne to three premierships and leading the Maroons in 21 Origins and the Kangaroos on 26 occasions.

In 2021, Cameron was voted the Rugby League’s greatest captain, surpassing the likes of Wally Lewis, Mal Meninga, Arthur Beeston and Norm Provan.

Throughout an illustrious nineteen-year career, he played 56 Tests for Australia, 42 State of Origin matches, and was an integral part of the Maroons’ incredible Origin run when they won 11 series in 12 years.

A hugely influential person on the field and a humble statesman off it, Cameron is an outstanding keynote speaker and a highly polished MC and host. Having led his team to victory countless times, he is an expert on the themes of teamwork, goal setting and leadership, and interlaces his presentations with anecdotes from his career.

Born in Brisbane, Cameron played for the Logan Brothers Rugby League Club as a child before progressing through the Brisbane Norths junior system. In 2002, he debuted as a halfback for the Melbourne Storm and soon found a home as hooker, leading the Melbourne Storm to eight grand finals and Queensland to a record twelve State of Origin titles in thirteen years, and Australia to two World Cups.

In 2007, Cameron was named the world’s best player and would go on to win every individual and collective honor in the game for the next five years. This includes the Golden Boot for International Player of the Year, Dally M Medal, Wally Lewis Medal, NRL Grand Final, State of Origin Series, Tri Nations and Four Nations Tournaments and the Rugby League World Cup.

He continued his winning streak in 2013 when he guided Australia to victory in the 2013 Rugby League World Cup and was awarded Dally M Hooker of the Year, Dally M Captain of the Year and Dally M Representative Player of the Year.

In 2017, a 34 year-old Cameron defied all odds, captaining Melbourne Storm to the NRL Minor Premiership and Queensland to another State of Origin series as well as leading Australia to victory in the Rugby League World Cup. 

In that same year, he was crowned Melbourne Storm Player of the Year and received yet another Dally M Player of the Year Award and Golden Boot Award.

In 2018, Cameron retired from representative football and relinquished his Queensland and Australia captaincy roles, sending shockwaves across the rugby league. However, Melbourne Storm reaped the benefits with Cameron leading the club to a third consecutive NRL Grand Final.

Cameron once more defied all odds in 2019 when he broke the NRL’s all-time points scoring record and bypassed the magical 400 NRL game-barrier, an achievement many thought was impossible and most agree will never happen again. He then led Melbourne Storm to their third minor premiership in four years – the best performance by any NRL side since the 1959 St George Dragons.

In 2020, he cemented his position as one of the greatest players in the league’s history, leading Melbourne Storm to another NRL Premiership.

In the following year, Cameron retired from the NRL after 19 seasons, and his legacy continues to live on as one of the greatest and most influential Australian athletes of all time. He has been further immortalized at AAMI Park with the unveiling of the eastern stand in his name.

In 2022, Melbourne Storm announced it will rename its “Player of the Year Award”, an award won by Cameron a record eight times, in honor of the former captain