In the wake of Cameron Smith's decision to step down from his role as an assistant with the Maroons, head coach Billy Slater has paid tribute to what he believes is an unmatched contribution to the Origin side and welcomed Matt Ballin into the role.
After playing a record 42 games for the state representative side between 2003-17, Smith helped mastermind Queensland's back-to-back series victories over the past two years as Slater's right-hand man.
Across 48 games as both a player and assistant coach, Smith enjoyed a remarkable 62.5 percent winning rate over New South Wales, experiencing victory in 13 of the 17 series he was involved in.
Slater said Smith has created an unparalleled legacy with the Maroons.
“I don’t know if there’s anyone who has contributed more to the Queensland Origin team than Cam Smith,” Slater said.
“I’m extremely grateful for his contribution over the last two series. He’s done an incredible job which I’ve seen first hand inside the camp with all the players and coaching staff.”
Smith, who is departing in order to focus on a new grassroots coaching role with Queensland club side the Currumbin Eagles, said he was grateful to have had the opportunity to experience the Origin arena as both a player and coach.
“I was lucky enough to represent the jersey many times, but to experience it from a different lens as a coach, and being able to watch this new generation play the way they did and represent the state in the manner in which they did, was highly rewarding," Smith said.
“It’s been a fantastic two series working with quality players. They’re quality people to work with and they’ve certainly helped me as a rookie assistant coach."
Another former Maroons representative in Ballin will assume Smith's role for the 2024 Ampol State of Origin Series, having previously worked with the side on game days and coached the Queensland Under 19 team.
“It's exactly the same as the playing days; he was always in front of me as a player and always in front of me as a coach, but I'm just lucky to get an opportunity,” Ballin said.
“I guess it goes back to when I was playing, Mal Meninga was the coach then and when I was playing, he said, ‘you haven't been picked to be Cameron Smith, you've been picked to be Matt Ballin’ when you play’, so I'll be doing the same thing when I coach.
“I’ll just go in and, and do the best job I can and I'm sure that's enough for Queensland.”
