Brandon Smith is at serious risk of being dropped after failing to attend a Sydney Roosters team meeting during their NRL bye week.
Assistant coach Justin Holbrook told SEN on Tuesday afternoon that Smith was “unlikely” to be picked for Saturday’s clash against Parramatta, having already been handed a breach notice by the NRL club.
Smith failed to turn up to Roosters’ mid-season review on June 3, a self-described “rookie mistake” the premiership-winning hooker feared could prompt the club to terminate his contract.
The sixth-placed Roosters have not yet taken that action but coaching staff will consider the 28-year-old’s immediate place in the team when they convene later on Tuesday afternoon.
“I think it’s unlikely Brandon plays this weekend,” Holbrook said.
“We’re sitting down this afternoon to make the final decision, I don’t want to go off too early before we’ve sat down and discussed that as a coaching group.”
Smith addressed the incident publicly for the first time on Tuesday morning, saying he had been out for coffee with his partner and unaware the team would meet during its round-14 bye, having left his phone at home.
“It was dumb by me,” Smith told The Bye Round podcast.
“You check your schedule before you sleep. But I was thinking on a normal game, you go to sleep and you have a day off after a game.
“Because we had the bye, I was thinking, we’re definitely doing it (having a day off). I should’ve checked and I didn’t and then when I got home, (the meeting) was all over.”
AAP has been told the 28-year-old New Zealand international has committed multiple indiscretions since arriving at the Roosters from Melbourne ahead of the 2023 season.
Contracted through 2025 after taking up a player option earlier this year, Smith said the breach notice could be considered a formal warning and came with a suspended fine.
But he worried during the bye week there could be more severe repercussions.
“A lot of rumours go up and about because I got a breach. I was starting to think I was going to get sacked, myself,” he said.
“It’s a warning but also a fine. I don’t know if I pay anything, it’s suspended. If I get that second breach then I pay that fine. But you don’t want a second breach.
“Not much (more disciplinary action) has really come of it.”
Smith said he was “pretty sad” throughout the bye week and limited his social media time in a bid to snap out of his funk.
“You can cop sprays but when you get it in an email form, it’s a lot harsher,” he said.
“I’m trying to shift my energy away from it because it’s been consuming the whole week of the bye, to be honest.”
Smith has since returned to the team, saying he was the “first one in to training” on Monday.
Roosters teammates managed to laugh off Smith’s mistake but coach Trent Robinson was less jocular.
“The boys were funny, making fun of me,” Smith said.
“Trent was disappointed because it’s quite a rookie mistake.
“I feel like I let people down and I don’t like letting people down. It definitely made me want to chill out a little bit and focus on what’s really important.”
* This article was originally published here
