Reimis Smith

Reimis Smith

Personal information
Born	(1997-05-13) 13 May 1997 (age 27) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Height	196 cm (6 ft 5 in)
Weight	97 kg (15 st 4 lb)
Playing information
Position	Centre, Wing
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 2016–20 Canterbury Bulldogs 49 25 0 0 100 2021–24 Melbourne Storm 68 25 0 0 100 2024– Catalans Dragons 3 0 0 0 0 Total 120 50 0 0 200
Source: [1] As of 8 Aug 2024

Reimis Smith (born 13 May 1997) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays as a centre for the Catalans Dragons in the Super League.

He previously played for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and Melbourne Storm as a winger in the NRL and has played for New Zealand 9s at international level.

Background

Smith was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and is of Māori and Indigenous Australian descent. ^[2] Smith is the son of former New Zealand international Tyran Smith, ^[3] and the nephew of boxer and former professional rugby league footballer Anthony Mundine. ^[2]

Smith played his junior rugby league for the Mascot Jets and for the South Sydney Harold Matthews team. He was educated at Matraville Sports High School and then being signed by the Parramatta Eels in 2013. ^[4]

Playing career

Early career

In 2015, Smith played for the Parramatta Eels' NYC team, ^[5] before joining the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs mid-season. ^[6]

2016 – 2020: Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs

Smith playing for the Bulldogs in 2016

On 7 May, Smith played for the Junior Kiwis against the Junior Kangaroos. ^[7] In Round 12 of the 2016 NRL season, he made his NRL debut for Canterbury against Canberra, ^{[8] [9]} scoring two tries. ^[10] He had played for the clubs Intrust Super Premiership NSW side the day before, but due to regular Canterbury centre Josh Morris being called up to the New South Wales State of Origin side on the day of the NRL game, Smith was called up and had to drive from Sydney to Canberra to make the game. ^[3]

Smith spent 2017 playing for Canterbury's NSW Cup team, making no appearances for the first-grade team. On 6 May, Smith again played at centre for the Junior Kiwis against Junior Kangaroos in the 46–22 loss at Canberra Stadium. ^[11]

in 2018, following the mid-season departure of Moses Mbye to the Wests Tigers, Smith earned a recall back into Canterbury's first-grade team on the wing as Will Hopoate shifted from centre to fullback to fill in the void. He made his first appearance of the season in Round 15 against the Gold Coast Titans, playing on the wing. ^[12] In Round 24 against the St George Illawarra Dragons, Smith scored a hat-trick of tries in Canterbury's shock upset 38–0 win at Jubilee Oval. ^[13] He finished the season with 11 matches and 7 tries. On 3 September, he was selected in the New Zealand Kiwis training squad but didn’t make the final 24-man squad. ^[14] On 3 October, Smith extended his contract with Canterbury to the end of the 2020 NRL season. ^[15]

In Round 8 of the 2019 NRL season against Manly-Warringah, Smith scored two tries in a 18–10 defeat at Brookvale Oval. In Round 19, Smith scored two tries in a 20–12 loss against the Sydney Roosters at ANZ Stadium. ^{[16] [17]}

In Round 23 against arch rivals Parramatta, Smith was placed on report and then sent to the sin bin in the second half of the match after headbutting Parramatta player Maika Sivo during Canterbury's upset 12–6 victory at the Western Sydney Stadium. ^[18]

On 11 November, Smith signed a contract extension to stay at Canterbury until the end of the 2021 season. ^[19]

Smith played 14 games for Canterbury in the 2020 NRL season scoring four tries. The club finished in 15th place on the table, only avoiding the Wooden Spoon by for and against over bottom side Brisbane. On 13 November, Smith was granted a release by Canterbury to join reigning premiers, Melbourne. ^[20]

2021 – 2024: Melbourne Storm

Smith played a total of 25 games for Melbourne in the 2021 NRL season as the club won 19 matches in a row and claimed the Minor Premiership. Smith played in two finals matches including the preliminary final where Melbourne suffered a shock 10–6 loss against eventual premiers Penrith. ^[21]

In round 9 of the 2022 NRL season, Smith was taken from the field during Melbourne's victory over St. George Illawarra. It was later announced Smith would miss 10–12 weeks with a torn pectoral injury. ^[22]

Smith made 22 appearances for Melbourne in the 2023 NRL season including the club's preliminary final loss against Penrith. ^[23] He would score five tries for the season, forming a partnership on the right edge with rookie winger Will Warbrick. Smith also made three appearances for the Brisbane Tigers in the Queensland Cup during the 2023 season. ^[24]

On 31 July 2024, it was announced that Smith had been granted an immediate release from his contract to take up an opportunity elsewhere. ^{[25] [26]}

2024 – present: Catalans Dragons

On 1 Aug 2024 it was reported that he had joined Super League club Catalans Dragons for the remainder of the season ^[27]

Statistics

Year	Team	Games	Tries	Pts
2016	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	1	2	8
2018		11	7	28
2019		23	12	48
2020		14	4	16
2021	Melbourne Storm	25	14	56
2022		9	1	4
2023		22	5	20
2024		12	5	20
2024	Catalans Dragons	0	0	0
	Totals	117	50	200

References

1. "Reimis Smith – Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. 13 May 1997. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
2. Rothfield, Phil (25 November 2012). "Catch Australia's best sporting gossip with Phil Rothfield – What's the Buzz". News.com.au. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
3. Michael Chammas. "Canterbury Bulldogs coach Des Hasler lashes out at NRL scheduling and NSW Blues medical staff". Smh.com.au. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
4. "Three South Sydney Players Selected in 2013 NSW Under 16s Team". www.rabbitohs.com.au.
5. "S". Nyc Database. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
6. NRL. "Round 10 NRL Team Announcement". Bulldogs. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
7. "Updated: Representative Round team lists". NRL.com. Archived from the original on 4 June 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
8. NRL. "NRL Late Mail: Round 12 v Raiders". Bulldogs. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
9. "Updated team lists: Raiders v Bulldogs". NRL.com. 28 February 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
10. "Raiders romp home to tame Bulldogs". NRL.com. 28 February 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
11. "Junior Roos power past Kiwi counterparts". National Rugby League. 5 May 2017.
12. "Goodbye to Mbye as Bulldogs slump to worst start in 54 years". the Guardian. Australian Associated Press. 16 June 2018.
13. "Reimis runs amok as Bulldogs demolish Dragons". National Rugby League. 26 August 2018.
14. "Bulldogs rookie Smith in Kiwis Test squad". National Rugby League. 3 September 2018.
15. "Reimis re-signs with Canterbury until end of 2020". National Rugby League. 3 October 2018.
16. "Hasler completes homecoming with win against Bulldogs". SMH.
17. "Raiders and Sydney Roosters consolidate spots in NRL top four with round 19 wins". ABC.
18. "Reimis Smith faces possible ban after aiming headbutt at Parramatta Eels Sivo". Fox Sports.
19. "Reimis re-signs with Canterbury until end of 2021". NRL.
20. "Reimis Smith signs with Melbourne Storm on two-year deal following Canterbury Bulldogs release". www.sportingnews.com.
21. "Penrith Panthers beat Melbourne Storm 10–6 to reach second straight NRL grand final, will face South Sydney Rabbitohs". www.abc.net.au.
22. "Storm coach Craig Bellamy reveals full extent of Ryan Papenhuyzen, Reimis Smith injuries". www.sportingnews.com.
23. "NRL 2023: Melbourne Storm season review". www.sportingnews.com.
24. "Season in Review: Reimis Smith". melbournestorm.com.au. 24 October 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
25. "NRL contract news: Melbourne Storm grant Reimis Smith immediate release | Sporting News Australia". www.sportingnews.com. 31 July 2024. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
26. Pryde, Scott (31 July 2024). "Storm make surprise call on experienced centre's immediate future". Zero Tackle. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
27. "Melbourne Storm centre's Super League move confirmed as Reimis Smith's new club identified". Love Rugby League. 1 August 2024.

External links

• Canterbury Bulldogs profile (Archived on 26 October 2020)