Kiwis hooker opens up on alleged drugs scandal

Kiwis and Sydney Roosters hooker Brandon Smith has opened up about the personal toll of his alleged drugs scandal.

In 2021, while playing for the Melbourne Storm, Smith and teammates Cameron Munster and Chris Lewis were all handed a one-match ban and fined more than $50,000 after they were filmed partying with a white substance on a table in the background.

The video, posted to social media, was filmed after the Storm’s NRL season being ended by the Penrith Panthers in the NRL’s preliminary final.

Separate investigations by the Storm and the NRL were unable to ascertain what the white powder was.

But speaking on the Keegan and Company podcast, Smith revealed the impact the scandal had on his family.

“As we’re walking out of the hotel bro, we get this message from the general manager of the Storm saying, ‘this video is about to go viral’ and there’s a video of me in front of the table doing stuff I shouldn’t have been doing,” Smith said.

“I was like, ‘I’m so sorry Mum, I’m so sorry’. “It sucked, bro, it sucked. But not for me. It sucked for my mum - I wanted her to enjoy her f***ing night.

“Then bro, what really f***ing hit home was that my niece and my nephew were getting bullied at school because of something I did.

“You know, I f***ing did that and hearing that from my brother and just seeing that shit bro, that was definitely something that hurt my heart, bad.”

The controversy occurred in the wake of Smith being named as the Dally M hooker of the year for the 2021 NRL season.

Last year, the 27-year-old moved from the Storm to the Roosters.

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission