Australia golfing superstar Cameron Smith has revealed he shed a tear when the NRL premiership fell out of his beloved Broncos’ grasp in the 2023 grand final.
Watching on from San Diego in California, the 30-year-old, like almost every Brisbane fan, thought Kevin Walters’ men had secured the unthinkable.
It was pure ecstasy for Smith when young gun five-eight Ezra Mam crossed to complete his hattrick, but it wasn’t to be for the Broncos.
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A 20-minute Nathan Cleary masterclass downed Brisbane, with Smith telling Fox League’s Braith Anasta is saw him shed a tear for the first time “in a very long time”.
“Mate it was tough, I was in San Diego and it finished at about 4am, we were obviously on top except for that 20 minutes in the second half,” Smith said.
“To lose like that it was pretty heartbreaking, it was the first time I’ve cried in a very long time. The iPad also didn’t fare too well, it was thrown across the room. It was tough.”
Smith, who is in Australia to play the Australian PGA Championship and Australian Open, also revealed he had introduced State of Origin to his American neighbours, with the new fans barracking for Queensland.
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Smith, who hails from Brisbane, gave Anasta a subtle jab regarding Queensland’s dominance over New South Wales over the last 13 years.
“I’ve even got my neighbours into State of Origin over the last few years, they love it and Queensland have been going pretty well over the last 12 years,” Smith said.
The Broncos will now be desperate to avenge their 2023 loss, and Smith believes all the building blocks are in place to go one better.
“I know a lot of the boys have stayed around, there’s obviously been a few changes,” Smith said.
“But Reynolds is great, all those older boys, I was able to see it last year training with them and they have a great culture.
“As you probably know that is alot in a team.”
SCHEDULE
November 23-26: Australian PGA Championship, Royal Queensland Golf Club, Brisbane
Total prize money: $2,000,000
December 1-4: Australian Open, The Australian Golf Club and The Lakes Golf Club, Sydney
Total prize money: $1,700,000
NOTABLE PLAYERS
Cameron Smith, Adam Scott, Min Woo Lee, Marc Leishman, Adrian Meronk (AUT), Matt Jones, Cameron Davis, Joaquin Niemann (CHI), Mito Pereira (CHI), Robert MacIntyre (SCO), Michael Block (USA), Lucas Herbert, Alex Fitzpatrick (ENG), Rafa Cabrera Bello (ESP), Eddie Pepperell (ENG), Kiradech Aphibarnrat (THA)
PREVIOUS CHAMPIONS
Australian PGA Championship
2022 (Nov): Cameron Smith
2022 (Jan): Jed Morgan
2019: Adam Scott
2018: Cameron Smith
2017: Cameron Smith
Australian Open
2022: Adrian Meronk
2019: Matt Jones
2018: Abraham Ancer
2017: Cameron Davis
2016: Jordan Spieth
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