As he prepares to officiate his final NRL match, a respected referee has revealed what Cameron Smith was like to deal with on the field.
Retiring NRL referee Matt Cecchin has revealed what Melbourne Storm legend Cameron Smith was really like to deal with as a player.
The 48-year-old will officiate his final NRL match this weekend and hang up the whistle for good, after he retired for the first time in 2018 before returning to the game in the last couple of seasons.
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Cecchin has been the man in the middle for 350 NRL matches, as well as several State of Origin and Grand Finals, and he has now spilt the beans on his many interactions with Smith, who many regard as the greatest rugby league player of all time.
Smith, who captained the Storm to three premierships and is the NRL’s games record holder, was renowned for constantly chatting to referees during games to try and change their minds about a penalty.
“He (Smith) is certainly one of the most intelligent players I’ve ever refereed,” Cecchin told SEN.
“The thing with Cameron – he did get a lot of airtime with referees – but he did it in a way that he’d come and talk to you on the field and you’d feel like pausing the game, ordering a couple of coffees or a couple of beers to have a chat about it.”
Cecchin said Smith’s knowledge of the game of rugby league was off the charts and he respected the calm manner in which he would argue his point, often leaving the veteran referee second-guessing his decisions.
“He was really engaging, not in a nasty, ‘You stuffed that up’ way, but he would say, ‘Cech, I agree with that penalty, but can you keep an eye on this guy? He’s always seems to get caught in there and we’re not really locking it in’,” Cecchin said.
“Your mind starts to go, ‘Maybe he’s right?’, he was very, very, engaging and very clever with how he did things.
“Off the field, you’d speak to him about the game, he just knew it in such complexity, it was incredible.”
Cecchin will referee his last ever game when South Sydney takes on St George Illawarra on Saturday night, bringing an end to his successful career that stretches back to 2001.
However Smith, who retired from the NRL at the end of last year’s premiership-winning campaign with Melbourne, could be set to have some more interactions with referees in the future.
Earlier this week, he expressed interest in joining the Queensland Maroons’ State of Origin set-up as an assistant coach.
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