An emotional Brandon Smith paid tribute to Storm fans and his former teammates after returning to AAMI Park for the first time since leaving the club.
Smith played 107 games in the purple jersey after making his NRL debut in 2017, but packed his bags and moved to Bondi in the off-season to don the Tricolours.
On Thursday night he ran out onto the Melbourne ground as a rival player for the first time, and wasn’t able to taste victory as the Roosters lost 28-8.
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“Tough night. When you complete like that against the Storm you know you’re going to pay for it,” Smith told Nine after the game.
“We didn’t control the ball as well as we wanted to, we didn’t execute the plays we wanted to.”
Smith, 26, enjoyed playing against his former teammates, and at one point even heard a familiar play called by opposition hooker Harry Grant, and was able to use his inside knowledge to shut down the attack.
The Kiwi international was seen hugging and laughing with several Storm players – including close friend Grant – following the game.
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“This is one of the bad memories I’m going to remember on this field,” he told Nine’s Billy Slater.
“I’ve had a lot of ups, a lot of downs, I have a lot of respect for this organisation, this club, these fans.
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“They gave me an opportunity to be who I am, and they let me be who I am, as bad and as good as it can be.
“It was definitely a moment to remember, getting to share this field with all my teammates.
“Next time hopefully we can put on a better show. Probably not what these fans deserved, with these two teams.”
The Roosters next face the Storm in round 20, on July 15 at the SCG.
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