What better man to take advantage of the 'Cameron Smith Rule' than Cameron Smith himself? Almost seven years after a law change in the wake of his grand final exclusion, the Queensland captain has cashed in to take his place in the State of Origin opener.

Smith was one of the great hard luck stories in 2008 when he was forced to sit out the NRL decider after being charged with a grapple tackle the previous week. A subsequent outcry saw a tweak to the weighted period for previous offences, which was trimmed from two years to 12 months.

Happy days: Cameron Smith laughs as Issac Luke of the Rabbitohs looks on shortly after Smith kicked Luke in a tackle. Credit:Getty Images

Now Smith shapes as a key beneficiary, escaping a ban for his kick on Souths hooker Isaac Luke when he enters an early guilty plea to a grade one dangerous contact head/neck charge.

Smith collected Luke during Melbourne's 16-12 win over Souths on Saturday night as he tried to free himself in a tackle. He had maintained it was accidental, to the extent he didn't even know he'd made contact, but it still attracted the ire of the NRL's match review committee.