An NRL star living on the breadline


HE COULD earn more delivering pizzas. Parramatta halfback Jeremy Smith - the man sparking the Eels' charge into the NRL finals - is being paid a paltry $37,500 a year.

The 26-year-old former journeyman has made stunning progress under coach Jason Taylor after failed attempts to nail down a career at the Roosters, Dragons and Sharks. Now, only 18 months after he was set to pull the pin on rugby league and work full-time with a freight company at Sydney Airport, Smith has triggered the Eels' rise from the premiership dead and is on track to secure a grand final triumph that would cap one of the NRL's most remarkable career turnarounds.

All for a pittance.

"Everyone wants to make a bit of coin but that's not what I'm in it for," Smith said in the build-up to the match today against the Roosters.

Just as well.

NRL halfbacks earn a small fortune. They're all key men - and are paid accordingly. But Smith was so down and out at the start of 2005 he was offered the NRL's bare minimum deal to turn out in premier league for the Eels. He couldn't sign fast enough.

His pay would barely cover the rent but he didn't care because the contract gave him the one thing he most wanted: a last opportunity.

"I thought it was all over for me," he said. "It wasn't the biggest contract in the world but it didn't matter. Parra were going to give me a go and that was all I wanted.

"If you play well, I suppose money and things take care of themselves in the end. To be part of the team now and to be going into the finals and to be playing a part in all of this, it's all I wanted to do."

Smith says he can never repay the debt he owes Taylor. He's not talking about dollars and cents. He's talking about being unable to repay the faith. Taylor coached him in the Eels' grand final-winning premier league team last year. Now they're going down the same path in firsts. Taylor says Smith will not be losing his place to Tim Smith when the boom youngster returns from his broken collarbone during the play-offs. That's a fair rap.

"I guess JT has always seen something in me and he's always encouraged me," Smith said. "I've always felt he thinks I can play. That's worth a lot. I can't thank him enough. He's got me playing the way I am.

"He's one of those coaches who can bring out the best in blokes. He's just got that knack. I don't think any of this would be happening if it wasn't for him."

Just when Smith was coming good, in June, he went bad again. The Eels were playing St George Illawarra. He lost his mind and shoved referee Sean Hampstead. He was suspended for four weeks and Tim Smith was returning and it was all about to go pear-shaped.

Taylor said Smith had two options: drop his bundle and permanently go back to premier league, or work his backside off and wait for another opportunity. He took the higher road. Another opportunity arose, and he took it all over again.

"That was a pretty tough month," he said. "The first few days were really hard. I had to turn my phone off because all my mates were on there giving it to me.

"I thought I'd blown it. It had taken so long to get where I was but it was all getting taken away."

Taylor said: "That month showed what he's got. You can imagine how hard it was for him.

"When you've been waiting that long and finally been given an opportunity and to have it all going pretty well, it was disappointing for him. But he got through that with the same attitude he needed to get through the last couple of years. He's shown a lot of mettle. He just had to keep punching and he did."

Taylor is going to South Sydney next year. It's no surprise that Smith is following him.

Souths have got themselves the deal of the century. Taylor was green when the Rabbitohs signed him to be Shaun McRae's assistant in 2007 and now he's an outstanding first-grade coach. Smith had yet to hit his straps when Souths snapped him up. By the time he gets to Redfern, he could be wearing a premiership ring.

"He was still relatively unknown when Souths got him," Taylor said.

"It was before everyone really knew what he was about and what his skills are. He's come on but he's still getting better.

"Regardless of your age, when you haven't played much NRL, there's a real learning curve when you start playing week in, week out. In terms of games, he's still a rookie. Off the field, and I don't want to overstate this, he's had a few areas that he's needed to work on over and above just the playing side of things.

"I wanted him to behave like a professional footy player, which he hadn't been doing before. I suppose he wasn't a professional before.

"His catch and pass ability and his kicking ability are up there with the best of them. It's all natural and he's only going to get better. We're yet to see the best of him."

Smith filled out a questionnaire for his player profile on the Eels website when he became a first-grade regular. One question asked: "If you could turn back time and witness one event, what would it be?" Smith answered: "Seeing Jesus perform his miracles."

Smith's career turnaround hasn't quite been of biblical proportions, but it's still been something of a phenomenon.