High-profile hooker Brandon Smith is reportedly at the crossroads with the Sydney Roosters after the club issued the Kiwi international with a breach notice after he failed to meet team standards.
The 28-year-old was a no-show at the club’s mandatory mid-season review on Monday June 3 and cited a scheduling mix-up on his part.
Roosters officials and teammates were less than impressed with Smith including five-eighth Luke Keary who said “it wasn’t good enough” and the standards amongst the team were “black and white”.
The Daily Telegraph’s David Riccio suggested this was the first step in Smith possibly departing the club in the near future.
“We are on a long winding path to Brandon Smith leaving the Roosters. That’s about as simple as I can put it,” Riccio told SEN 1170 Breakfast.
“He was issued a show clause as to why he failed to attend a team meeting that was mandatory.
“He slept in, missed the notification which every player received.
“Victor Radley and Luke Keary have spoken out and said that it’s unacceptable.
“It comes back to the original question: was he ever going to be the right fit for the club?
“I’m happy to be proven wrong but I just feel like this is a stepping stone for Brandon leaving the Roosters.”
Smith joined the Roosters for the 2023 season on a deal worth $800,000 per season and he has a player option in his favour worth $850,000 for the 2025 season.
Since joining the Roosters squad, Smith has failed to live up to expectation after six successful years with the Melbourne Storm.
“I played several seasons with Brandon,” SEN’s Cameron Smith said on SENQ.
“He’s a quality footballer but he has had his issues off-field.
“The one thing I know is that the Roosters, much like the Storm, have very high standards and if you are a no-show at a vital meeting to your season, it’s just not good enough.
“Maybe there’s more behind but for Brandon, he needs to earn back the respect and trust of his teammates and his coaches.
“That needs to be done through his actions and his football for the remainder of the year.”
The Roosters travel to CommBank Stadium to take on the Parramatta Eels on Saturday night.