"I haven't waivered away from what Mal (Meninga) asked me to do in the preparation. This was a pretty big game for us, it was a big game for both sides. Any sort of distraction from me wouldn't have helped our cause tonight."

When asked if he wanted to address the issue - something he is yet to do - he responded: "I don't think tonight's the right night, no

"Out of respect for the game that was just played and the result for us and a guy like Justin Hodges who's just finished his career tonight. I don't think it's the right forum."

Coach Meninga then summed up his admiration for his skipper. "He's one of the best players who's every played the game, it's as simple as that," the coach said.

"When you put something aside, that he's had to endure in recent times, and do what he did tonight ... not only tonight but what he's done during the week and the back end, leading up to this game, it's extraordinary.

"Let's hope we keep talking about Cameron Smith's ability on the footy field and how good a bloke he is and a decent bloke he is. We love him."

"Asked to sum up the evening, Meninga said: "Awesome ... it's the best birthday present ever, to be honest with you."

Smith said: "We were all out on that field at some point thinking 'what's happening here?'

"We wanted to prove to ourselves that we're still a great footy side .. we were very honest with each other coming out of game two."