LEEDS RHINOS star Cameron Smith recently signed a new deal that will take his stay at Headingley to at least the end of the 2026 Super League season.
Smith, who debuted for the West Yorkshire club at 17, has become one of the highest-rated players in Super League, with Leeds rewarding him for his recent good form with the number 13 shirt ahead of the 2023 season.
In and amongst his new deal, Smith’s agent – Craig Harrison of Show Me The Money UK – revealed that the loose-forward has always held an NRL ambition, but that this deal proves his loyalty to Leeds.
“Leeds came at the end of July last year that they wanted to extend Cam as Richard (Agar – previous Rhinos boss) and Rohan (Smith) both thought highly of him,” Harrison said on the Show Me The Money UK TV podcast.
“Cameron had an ambition to play in the NRL and maybe the timing of it was to play the contract (at Leeds) out.
“He had another year left but Leeds came in and said ‘would you like to extend?’ He was a little bit disappointed not getting in the England set up for the World Cup.
“When we got back to talks this year, he had two options: either play his contract out or extend. He had a massive desire to stay at Leeds and to wear the 13 shirt. His ambition is to one day be a captain of Leeds.
“He made it clear to me that he wanted to play in Australia as a 16-year-old so it’s a massive call for Cameron to commit to Leeds for the next four five years. It will take him into his testimonial year as he made his debut at 17.
“We all think cameron can become the player for Leeds and England. We finally got it done and Leeds announced it and I can’t be happier,” Harrison continued.
“That 13 is such a proud shirt. In the end, it was a simple deal and probably one of the easiest ones me and Gary (Hetherington – Leeds chief executive) have done over the years.”
Brilliant news for Leeds fans.
