Johnathan Thurston and Benji Marshall make big call after Cam Smith overlooked for Immortal honour
Cameron Smith would have been close to being included as the next NRL Immortal.
NRL greats Johnathan Thurston and Benji Marshall have both lauded Cameron Smith and claimed he will be a future Immortal after he missed out on Wednesday night. NRL fans were thrilled for Ron Coote after the Sydney and Eastern Suburbs legend was recognised for his feats in the game.
The 80-year-old received plenty of plaudits for becoming the 15th Immortal with no doubt the six-time premiership player deserved his status. Despite his achievements, Melbourne Storm legend Smith was widely tipped to be the inclusion due to his recent achievements in the modern game.
Many believe Smith was worthy of jumping the queue and being inducted ahead of legends such as Coote, Darren Lockyer and Brett Kenny. While others felt handing the acknowledgement to Coote kept the integrity of the Immortal status in tact.
Although Cowboys legend Thurston was adamant his Maroons and Kangaroos teammate won't have to wait too long to be inducted into the elite group. This is despite a number of calls for other superstars from the 80s and 90s to be recognised next when the award is expected to be presented again in four years.
"Yeah (it's inevitable)," Thurston said, who was inducted into the NRL Hall of Fame. "And that's no disrespect to the rest that are around and the players that come before him. But it just speaks for itself."
Benji Marshall recognises Cameron Smith's records
Another Hall of Fame inductee agreed with Thurston. Tigers legend Marshall admitted Smith had all the records to prove he was ready to be an Immortal. Although whether he was next is another question.
"I think it's inevitable," Marshall said before the ceremony."You think about it, the guy was never injured. Had success at every level. Captained his country, state and club to multiple premierships, Origins and World Cups.
"What else do you have to do? And played 400-plus games in the toughest competition in the world. If that's not enough, then we're all stuffed."
Smith has a big case to enter the Immortal conversation as arguably rugby league's greatest ever No.9 and one of the best players to play the game. Smith played a record 400 NRL games, won two Dally M medals and is the highest point scorer in history with 2786.
Cameron Smith praises 'generational' teammates
While Smith was receiving plenty of plaudits, the extraordinary No.9 was also full of praise for the 'generational' stars he played with during his career. Inducted into the Hall of Fame with him as Thurston, Billy Slater, Greg Inglis and Cooper Cronk. All four played with him for the Maroons and Kangaroos in arguably the two most dominant representative teams of all time.
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All but Thurston played club footy with Smith at the Storm. And the NRL great admitted he was fortunate to play alongside those that could also potentially become future Immortals.
"You would think naturally, in time it happens," Smith said. "How long that takes, I am not sure. When you look at guys like Thurston, Slater, Cronk, Inglis. They are generational players. They were individuals that changed the way the sport was played in a particular position."
