What happens to Billy Smith?

[Eggspert]

Terrible rotten luck..he seems cursed ATM.

He should be back early rounds next year where his contract also expires end of 2023. He needs to play out the whole season without major injury.
Otherwise the club would be crazy to resign him unless he was dirt cheap.

He has Terrible injury history & if he can't get consecutive games under his belt then the Roosters need to move on. i don't think other clubs would be keen to sign such a injury prone player.

[Rocky Rhodes]

Don’t wish to be seen to be bagging the kid. How long does he have on contract? This may influence the decision.

long term injured. Third such injury. Not his best season.

if keary retires (hope not) then Manu a likely 5/8. We need centres or wingers.

what would you do with Smith and who would you look to?

Actually this was his best season in first grade...playing time wise more games this yr than his previous 3 yrs combined..

2019 - 2 Games
2020 - 0 Games
2021 - 3 Games
2022 - 7 Games started

12 Games in 4 yrs for Billy Papworth Smith..

Roosters should consider signing "Bevan French" for the right price? He's got something the rest of our squad don't have, genuine pace..

[rented tracksuit]

A 9 month recovery with return to play which is typically considered quite long for an ACL these days would have him returning in Round 2 of next year.

Like I said I would be more concerned with upgrading Naiqama and Keighran than offloading Billy Smith. If Billy Smith is our 4 or 5th choice centre next year coming back and playing reserve grade from March I see no problem with that. Whether we retain him beyond 2023 will be a completely different discussion though.

I understand that but I fear we will be surely having that discussion soon.

Duty of care for a player very prone to injury still needs to be considered however.

[roosterchook]

I feel devastated for him but if it was me, only having played 12 games in 4 years, I would put the club first just like it has put his health first and retire. I wouldn’t feel right being paid by the club and not being able to earn my keep. The club shouldn’t be put in a position where it has to make that call and Billy should not expect it to support him indefinitely.

[Rooster_6]

I feel devastated for him but if it was me, only having played 12 games in 4 years, I would put the club first just like it has put his health first and retire. I wouldn’t feel right being paid by the club and not being able to earn my keep. The club shouldn’t be put in a position where it has to make that call and Billy should not expect it to support him indefinitely.

Everyone understands the risk of a contract when they enter it. I have no issues with him getting paid what he and the club both agreed to.

It would be a really low act from the club to punt him just because he’s picked up an injury. That’s part and parcel of professional sport, especially Rugby League.

[Lydon]

Reading the article below sounds like it’s still way too early for him to decide what he will be doing next year, but considering he is contracted until the end of 2023 I feel he will give it one more go.





Luckless Sydney Rooster Billy Smith says he gets overwhelmed whenever he starts to think about the possibility he may be forced to retire aged just 22.

Smith suffered a third ruptured anterior cruciate ligament on Saturday and will undergo surgery next Monday.

The local junior ruptured his left ACL during the NSW Cup final in 2018 and his right ACL in 2020 during pre-season training, only to feel his left knee go during the Roosters’ first defensive set against St George Illawarra on the weekend. He played on in pain - and with all sorts of awful thoughts swirling around in his head - before he was substituted after half an hour.

Roosters legend Boyd Cordner comforted Smith in a room beneath Central Coast Stadium, with Cordner encouraging Smith to “just let it all out and cry

Once Roosters teammate Sitili Tupouniua was carted from the field after also rupturing his ACL, Smith gave him a hug, then snuck away before fulltime. His father, Craig, and sister, Lola, made the emotional trip back home down the M1.

Cronulla’s Connor Tracey and Dragons back Tautau Moga have returned to play in the NRL after three and four knee surgeries respectively - but Smith cannot bring himself to think about next year just yet.

“I did my knee in the first five minutes of the game. It was our first goal-line set and I stepped off my knee into a tackle,” Smith told the Herald on Tuesday.

“I kept playing as if to force myself to believe it wasn’t happening. I had to step off my knee again and tackle Zac Lomax when he scored, but it buckled and I was gone.

“I went pretty numb. I had ‘Boydo’ next to me in the sheds and he was a rock. He said, ‘Just let it all out and cry’. I thought, ‘Surely this is a dream’. I didn’t see any of the boys at half-time. I was in a separate part of the locker room and just broken. I went from having tears to punching bins.

“I wasn’t ready to see the boys and coaching staff, so I got out of there. There’s a huge amount of guilt in all this. They’ve put so much faith into me.”

Roosters coach Trent Robinson and skipper James Tedesco, a good friend of Smith, were both shattered at the post-match press conference when asked about the latest injury setback to the centre.

Smith’s rotten luck with injuries also included a shoulder operation at the start of last year, only to suffer a Lisfranc injury three games into his delayed comeback.

As for his immediate future, Smith said: “That’s a tough question. If I’m being completely honest, the things that have always motivated me are my family and this club. I’ll keep putting one foot in front of the other. I have a contract [until the end of 2023] I want to see through.

“I’m not trying to think about the future because when I do, it starts to get too overwhelming.

“Footy is what I love to do. It’s great you make money from the game, but I play because I love it. I’d be lying if I said those thoughts haven’t run through my head, but at the end of the day I’ll train and try to play the game I love again.”

[rented tracksuit]

Everyone understands the risk of a contract when they enter it. I have no issues with him getting paid what he and the club both agreed to.

It would be a really low act from the club to punt him just because he’s picked up an injury. That’s part and parcel of professional sport, especially Rugby League.

They wouldn’t be punting him because he picked up an injury. They would be weighing up the best for the club and the player who has picked up multiple long term injuries.

While I’m a fan of Billy’s, the club are not getting value out of a player who is regularly injured. If he comes back, I hope he kills it but history isn’t on his side and it’s looking like more than just bad luck now.

[Rooster_6]

Reading the article below sounds like it’s still way too early for him to decide what he will be doing next year, but considering he is contracted until the end of 2023 I feel he will give it one more go.





Luckless Sydney Rooster Billy Smith says he gets overwhelmed whenever he starts to think about the possibility he may be forced to retire aged just 22.

Smith suffered a third ruptured anterior cruciate ligament on Saturday and will undergo surgery next Monday.

The local junior ruptured his left ACL during the NSW Cup final in 2018 and his right ACL in 2020 during pre-season training, only to feel his left knee go during the Roosters’ first defensive set against St George Illawarra on the weekend. He played on in pain - and with all sorts of awful thoughts swirling around in his head - before he was substituted after half an hour.

Roosters legend Boyd Cordner comforted Smith in a room beneath Central Coast Stadium, with Cordner encouraging Smith to “just let it all out and cry

Once Roosters teammate Sitili Tupouniua was carted from the field after also rupturing his ACL, Smith gave him a hug, then snuck away before fulltime. His father, Craig, and sister, Lola, made the emotional trip back home down the M1.

Cronulla’s Connor Tracey and Dragons back Tautau Moga have returned to play in the NRL after three and four knee surgeries respectively - but Smith cannot bring himself to think about next year just yet.

“I did my knee in the first five minutes of the game. It was our first goal-line set and I stepped off my knee into a tackle,” Smith told the Herald on Tuesday.

“I kept playing as if to force myself to believe it wasn’t happening. I had to step off my knee again and tackle Zac Lomax when he scored, but it buckled and I was gone.

“I went pretty numb. I had ‘Boydo’ next to me in the sheds and he was a rock. He said, ‘Just let it all out and cry’. I thought, ‘Surely this is a dream’. I didn’t see any of the boys at half-time. I was in a separate part of the locker room and just broken. I went from having tears to punching bins.

“I wasn’t ready to see the boys and coaching staff, so I got out of there. There’s a huge amount of guilt in all this. They’ve put so much faith into me.”

Roosters coach Trent Robinson and skipper James Tedesco, a good friend of Smith, were both shattered at the post-match press conference when asked about the latest injury setback to the centre.

Smith’s rotten luck with injuries also included a shoulder operation at the start of last year, only to suffer a Lisfranc injury three games into his delayed comeback.

As for his immediate future, Smith said: “That’s a tough question. If I’m being completely honest, the things that have always motivated me are my family and this club. I’ll keep putting one foot in front of the other. I have a contract [until the end of 2023] I want to see through.

“I’m not trying to think about the future because when I do, it starts to get too overwhelming.

“Footy is what I love to do. It’s great you make money from the game, but I play because I love it. I’d be lying if I said those thoughts haven’t run through my head, but at the end of the day I’ll train and try to play the game I love again.”

I remember reading this on here last year and was looking for it, so good to go back and readi this after he made his return last weekend.

Such a good story. Seriously hope he kills it and has all the success in the world, must be so hard and like he said the guilt would almost be the worst part of it.

[The Axe]

So glad to read this. I remember writing this thread. Questions better judges than I are answering. Prove us wrong BS and smash it. You’ve already proven your character in spades

[TDK]

Give him a one year extension for the next few years until he overcomes his run of injuries. We have all seen what has happened with Douiehe after his third ACL injury. Billy is all heart and talented but the club must come first.