Sep 27th, 2019

Sep 27th, 2019

The greatness of Cameron Smith has taken many victims over the course of his decorated NRL career, but almost all of them have worn a jersey other than the purple of Melbourne Storm.

If Brodie Croft leaves to take up an offer with the Broncos or any other club, as now seems inevitable, the greatness of his Storm skipper will once again have played its part.

That's the opinion of rugby league Immortal Andrew Johns who says Croft has fallen out of favour in Melbourne purely because Smith's such a brilliant playmaker he doesn't need to play alongside a dominant half.

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Despite playing 22 games in first grade this year, Bellamy finally decided Croft wasn't in his best spine a fortnight before the finals began.

While Croft is clearly a more natural No.7 that Jahrome Hughes, Bellamy flicked the switch and moved the fullback that seemed poised to be Billy Slater's long-term successor into halfback and promoted Ryan Papenhuyzen from the bench into the No.1 jersey.

It left no room for Croft, which has prompted the 22-year-old to start flirting with the idea of a change of scenery, having this week met with Broncos coach Anthony Seibold in a meeting that was supposed to be a secret at a Sydney cafe.

Speaking to James Bracey for Wide World of Sports' Immortal Behaviour Johns said Croft would make a perfect recruit for the misfiring Broncos but hinted that the Storm might miss him once Smith finally hangs up his boots.

"For some reason obviously they want Jahrome Hughes, who I don't think is a natural halfback, but they want him in the team with Papenhuyzen," Johns said.

"They want those two in their starting 13. When you've got Cameron Smith at dummy half you probably don't need a dominant halfback, or you definitely don't need one.

"So he just has to do that much role as a halfback instead of (a bigger) role, Jahrome Hughes."

Johns added that Croft's meeting with Seibold was further evidence that young players breaking into the NRL in this era were impatient and unwilling to ride out setbacks.

Rather than sticking around to prove their coach wrong they pack their bags at the first sign of turbulence and start looking for a fresh start.

"I think Brodie Croft, without doubt these days once young players get put back they pretty much want out," Johns said.

"He's a Queensland boy, it'd be a perfect fit for the Broncos. So I wouldn't be surprised if he's at the Broncos next year."

According to multiple reports Croft became the Broncos' primary target as soon as they were dumped out of the finals and it wasn't long until talks progressed far enough for Seibold and the playmaker once touted as a future Maroons No.7 to meet face to face.

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With Croft still contracted to Melbourne next season and required at training while his club's premiership hopes remain alive, it was a meeting that clearly wasn't approved by Bellamy or Storm management but that won't necessarily count against him should he formally request a release.

"It's been a tough situation for Brodie as well. He played (22) games and then he was left out of the side - I understand where he was coming from too," Bellamy told media on Friday.

"At the end of the day you've got to put yourself in the other guy's shoes.

"That would have been really hard for him to take. But to his credit, he's continued to work really hard and helped the rest of the team.

"At the end of the day if he wants to travel further down that line, we'll sit down and talk about it."