Jeremy Smith (rugby league born 1980)

For the Salford City Reds player, see Jeremy Smith (rugby league born 1981).
Jeremy Smith
Smith while playing for the Storm in 2008.
Personal information
Full name Jeremy Jon Oscar Smith
Born 14 April 1980 (1980-04-14) (age 31)
Christchurch, New Zealand
Height 184 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight 104 kg (16 st 5 lb)
Playing information
Position Second-row
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2004–2008 Melbourne Storm 67 12 1 0 50
2009–2010 St. George Illawarra 30 5 0 0 20
2011– Cronulla-Sutherland 8 2 0 0 8
Total 105 19 1 0 78
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2007–2011 New Zealand 23 3 0 0 12

Jeremy Jon Oscar Smith (born 14 April 1980 in Christchurch, New Zealand) is a professional rugby league footballer who currently plays for the Cronulla Sutherland Sharks of the National Rugby League. A New Zealand international representative lock or 2nd-row forward, he previously played for the Melbourne Storm, winning the 2007 NRL Grand Final with them before moving to the Dragons, with whom he won the 2010 NRL Grand Final. Smith is not to be confused with compatriot and namesake Jeremy James Smith. Both Jeremy Smiths were named in the rugby league Centenary clash of 14 October 2007, Souths' Smith in the number 7 jersey, and Melbourne's Grand Final winning Smith in the number 13 jersey.[1][2]

Contents

Biography

Of Tongan and Samoan heritage,[3][4] Smith was born in New Zealand. There is confusion over his actual age. His date of birth on his current Sharks profile page is 14 April 1985.[5] He is a cousin of Kalifa Faifai Loa.[6]

Playing career

Recruited by the Storm from Runaway Bay on Queensland's Gold Coast, Smith played some of his junior rugby league with the Altona Roosters club in Melbourne.

Melbourne Storm

Smith made his National Rugby League debut for the Melbourne Storm in Round 23 of the 2004 Telstra Premiership against Canberra. The Storm reached 2006 NRL Grand Final and Smith was selected to play from the interchange bench in the loss to Brisbane. He played in the 2007 NRL Grand Final win over Manly. Post-season he went on the 2007 All Golds tour. The following year Smith played in the 2008 NRL Grand Final defeat to Manly.[7] In August 2008, Smith was chosen in the New Zealand training squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup,[8] and in October 2008 he was named in the final 24-man Kiwi squad.[9] Smith was a member of the World Cup-winning New Zealand team beating Australia in the 2008 World Cup final at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane.

St. George Illawarra Dragons

In January 2009, Smith was named the 2008 New Zealand Rugby League Player of the Year, ahead of five teammates from the world champion Kiwi side who were nominated as finalists.[10] Smith has played for the St George Illawarra Dragons from 2009 onward after signing a 3-year deal in 2008.[11] In August 2010, Smith signed with the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks.[12] He played in the 2010 NRL Grand Final win over the Sydney Roosters, marking his second premiership after the Storm's 2007 title. He has played in more grand finals than any other New Zealander.[13] Smith spent the post-season playing for New Zealand in their successful 2010 Four Nations campaign.

Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks

Having moved to the Sharks for the 2011 NRL season, Smith was chosen to represent New Zealand in May's 2011 ANZAC Test.

References

  1. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_league/7032300.stmhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_league/7032300.stm
  2. ^ Lowe, Robert (2007-10-09). "League: Smith has big shoes to fill". NZ Herald. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/4/story.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10468776. Retrieved 2008-08-02. 
  3. ^ Donaghy, Dave (2007-03-15). "Islander blood runs deep". Herald Sun. http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/nrl/story/0,21985,21383990-14823,00.html. Retrieved 2008-07-31. 
  4. ^ http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,23059606-23214,00.html
  5. ^ http://www.sharks.com.au/default.aspx?s=player-profile-display&id=3623&player=Jeremy--Smith&team=Sharks
  6. ^ "NRL: Smith cleared of Hopoate-like poke". The New Zealand Herald. Australian Associated Press. 29 April 2011. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10722231&ref=rss. Retrieved 6 October 2011. 
  7. ^ "Grand final: As it happened". Fox Sports. 2008-10-05. http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,24449388-23214,00.html. Retrieved 2008-10-05. 
  8. ^ "Kiwis select Sonny Bill". Sky Sports. 2008-08-08. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12196_3949034,00.html. Retrieved 2008-08-08. 
  9. ^ "Kiwis to wait on Webb and Matai". BBC. 2008-10-07. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/7656238.stm. Retrieved 2008-10-07. 
  10. ^ "Jeremy Smith named Kiwi player of the year". Macquarie National News. 2009-02-02. http://www.livenews.com.au/Articles/2009/02/01/Jeremy_Smith_named_Kiwi_player_of_the_year. Retrieved 2009-02-02. 
  11. ^ "2009 NRL Player Movements". NRL Live. 2008-10-04. http://www.nrllive.com.au/2009-nrl-player-movements/. Retrieved 2008-10-04. 
  12. ^ http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/cronulla-sharks-snare-jeremy-smith-from-arch-rival-st-george-illawarra-dragons/story-e6frexnr-1225903813520
  13. ^ Burgess, Michael (3 April 2011). "NRL: Second to no one with attitude". The New Zealand Herald. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10716794&ref=rss. Retrieved 6 October 2011. 

External links