Having taken up his player option for next season, Sydney Roosters hooker Brandon Smith has commented on speculation that he is unlikely to remain at the club beyond 2025.
Moving to the Roosters at the start of 2023 after six seasons and 107 matches with theย Melbourne Storm, Smith has failed to live up to expectations and has yet to reach his full potential at the Bondi-based club.
Able to play at hooker or lock, Smith will miss the first half of next season due to an ACL injury but will have trouble re-entering the starting team with the emergence ofย NSW Bluesย representativeย Connor Watsonย andย Victor Radleyย in the No.13 jersey.
Struggling to find consistency and on a contract worth around $850,000 per season, rumours emerged during the week that he was unlikely to remain at the Roosters beyond this season as the club looks to make several marquee new signings in the coming seasons.
A New Zealand international, Smith has now commented on these rumours, stating that he would love to remain at Bondi and has no desire to exit the Roosters.
โI haven't spoken to them yet because Robbo is still away,โ Smith said onย James Graham's The Bye Round.
โWhen we get back to training, we will have the proper discussion. Ideally, I would like to stay at the Roosters.
โI don't want to go anywhere, and my partner is well entrenched in the club. Ideally, I would like to stay, but the game of rugby league doesn't always have the same opinions as yourself.โ
While he confirmed that he would touch base with coach Trent Robinson when he returns to training, The Daily Telegraph reports that a handful of clubs have been made aware of his availability and asked whether they would be interested in speaking with him if the Roosters decide to sever ties with him.
โMy manager told me when do you want me to talk to other clubs, and I just said I am not really in a rush at the moment,โ Smith added.
โUsually you sign a contract for security โฆ in case pre-season you get injured or something happens like that. With me, I am already injured.
โI don't have a risk of being reinjured. So I just told them to wait it out, don't talk to anyone yet and I want to go back to training and get my knee right.โ
Smith is bound to receive a ton of traction if he enters the open market and follows news that front-rowerย Terrell Mayย has beenย told that he is free to leave immediatelyย despite recently re-signing with the Roosters.
May, who is one of the competition's most impactful players, is believed to be on a little over $500,000 per year, and the Roosters are understood to already have plenty of salary cap space following a number of departures this off-season, includingย Jared Waerea-Hargreaves,ย Luke Keary,ย Joseph Suaaliiย andย Joseph Manu.
Re-signing with the club in April, the news surrounding May's potential exit came as a surprise, with the 2024ย NRLย season arguably being the best of his career to date.
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Playing 27 games, predominantly off the interchange bench, he finished the year with 110 metres per game, 40 offloads, 64 tackle busts and a tackle efficiency of almost 98 per cent.
It's believed theย Canterbury Bulldogs,ย St George Illawarra Dragons, andย Wests Tigersย could emerge as the early front runners for his services, although the three May brothers have previously made it clear they want to play onย the same team.
