After confirming the departure of five players at their awards night in September, Billy Smith is one of three Sydney Roosters players whose future is currently up in the air.
Having just made the 2023 NRL finals series, the Roosters produced a shock win against the Cronulla Sharks in week one of the finals before bowing out against the Melbourne Storm the following week.
Whileย Fletcher Bakerย (Brisbane Broncos),ย Jaxson Pauloย (Manly Sea Eagles),ย Vuate Karawalevu (mid-season, rugby union), Matthew Lodgeย (mid-season,ย Manly Sea Eagles) andย Tuku Hau Tapuhaย (mid-season,ย Cronulla Sharks) had already been confirmed as leaving the club.
Head coach Trent Robinson would go on to confirm that Ben Thomas,ย Thomas Deakin,ย Nathan Brown,ย Jake Turpinย andย Drew Hutchison would all leave the club at the end-of-year awards night.
However, the future of the trio of Billy Smith, Corey Allan and Connor Watson is currently up in the air as next year's pre-season gets ready to begin in November.
Now,ย The Sydney Morning Heraldย has revealed that Billy Smith is set to be awarded a contract extension at the Sydney Roosters.
Earlier in the year, Smith had said that he had worked through a new contract with the club, but there has yet to be an official announcement from the club.
A local junior of the Sydney Roosters, Smith was born and bred in the Eastern Suburbs but has unfortunately had a horror run of injuries throughout his short career to date.
Only 23 years old, Smith made his debut in 2019 before suffering an ACL injury the following season, which was followed by a shoulder and lisfranc foot injury that saw him ruled out of the 2021 season.
Just as it seemed everything was getting back to normal for Smith, his injury woes continued after recovering from the above injuries in the 2022 season.
The outside back was taken from the field in Round 18 against the Dragons and would be ruled out for the remainder of the season with another ACL injury - his second to date.
A graduate of Scots College, Smith has played 27 games to date - scoring 34 points - and will be looking to add to his career game tally if he remains fit and healthy.