Brandon Smith's days as a Sydney Roosters player are numbered.

That is the clear knock-on effect of the club announcing the signing of Reece Robson on a mega four-year deal this week.

His departure from the North Queensland Cowboys came as something of a surprise, but the lure of returning to Sydney to play for one of the competition's glamour clubs - likely for more money than the Cowboys were offering - was simply too good to refuse.

And what it means is that 2025 will be Brandon Smith's last season at the tri-colours.

Off-season at the end of the campaign, and aiming to return from an ACL injury during the first half of it, the timing realistically couldn't be worse for Smith, who will go into a contract year unable to play any rugby league.

That, after two seasons at the Roosters, where he hasn't lived up to the level he was expected to after being signed from the Melbourne Storm.

But there are plenty of clubs who need a dummy half, and for his faults, Smith did show enough, particularly in the second half of 2024, to suggest he can, in fact, cut it as a dummy half in the NRL.

So, here are five clubs who will want to make a play for the off-contract Rooster.

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1. North Queensland Cowboys

Maybe this is too obvious, and maybe it just won't work either. Smith certainly seemed less than interested in relocating to Townsville when he spoke about his future on the Bye Round Podcast with James Graham recently.

But if the Cowboys - where Smith spent time previously before his NRL debut - put the best offer on the table, it will be intriguing to see whether Smith takes it.

The New Zealand international wants to play as a starting dummy half, and there is realistically no doubt he would be doing just that in Townsville following the loss of Robson.

Again, Smith is likely the only person who will stand in the way of this becoming a straight-player swap.

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3 COMMENTS

  1. Canberra is too cold. Parra is too far west. The Gold Coast has an attractive climate and a decent cityscape. The club finished fifth on the table in 2024.

    If the Roosters are prepared to throw in half of what they will have to pay Brandon Smith just to keep him playing NSW Cup when he returns from injury, then this could be a match made in heaven.

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