Melbourne Storm captain Cameron Smith suspended after pleading guilty to dangerous contact charge

Andrew Lucas

Melbourne Storm captain Cameron Smith suspended after pleading guilty to dangerous contact charge image

Melbourne Storm captain Cameron Smith has pleaded guilty to a grade-two dangerous contact charge and will miss his side's NRL clash against Manly on Saturday.

Smith was charged for an alleged 'wishbone' tackle on Gold Coast Titans back rower and former teammate Kevin Proctor.

The incident occurred in the 47th minute of his side's 28-14 win on the Gold Coast with Proctor playing no further part in the match.

On Sunday, the Match Review Committee revealed their findings against Smith which would result in a two-game ban if he appealed the charge unsuccessfully.

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After being given until 3pm Monday to decide whether they were going to appeal, Smith and the Storm accepted the sanction.

Footy journalist Brent Read broke the news on Monday afternoon.


It means the Melbourne captain will still have one further club game to play before heading into Maroon's State of Origin camp.

“Just to clarify that (tackle) I didn’t pull his leg, I didn’t try to pull his leg out,” Smith said at his post-match press conference.

“Kevvie’s a really good friend of mine and he’s a good friend of everyone at our club and I’ve played many games with him, so there’s absolutely no chance I’d be going in there trying to injure the bloke, I’ll be honest with you there."

The 34-year-old has previously been suspended by the judiciary, most notably when he missed the 2008 NRL grand final due to a grapple tackle charge.

Smith has played 368 NRL games and is an Australian and Queensland State of Origin representative.

He is also a Dally M medal and golden boot winner.

Rookie Storm hooker Brandon Smith is likely to replace the veteran.

Andrew Lucas

Andrew Lucas Photo