BY CURTIS WOODWARD

@woodward_curtis

The enigma that has become Cameron Smith was spotted on Tuesday training alone in a Gold Coast park sparking a case of Chinese whispers online – it didn’t help that the Titans announced a press conference for 2pm local time.

But it ended up being nothing.

It was revealed that the “significant announcement” ended up being the renewal of Cbus Super as the stadium’s major sponsor.

What a letdown.

Smith would have had a good chuckle about the fuss.

The man may have retired months ago but we still don’t know.

Whether he plays on at the Titans or not, Smith gets the last laugh.

In 2010, at the height of the Storm salary cap scandal, Melbourne officials including CEO Brian Waldron summoned Smith to an office above their training field at Princes Park.

The suits sat and sat, checking their watches and tapping the table.

Eventually, thirty minutes later, Smith rolled in with his footy boots in hand.

That’s Smith.

Much has been made of Tom Brady’s Super Bowl fairy tale at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after two decades as the quarterback of the New England Patriots.

Everything is in place for Smith to have one more tilt at an NRL premiership on the Gold Coast where he now lives.

Titans coach Justin Holbrook would love to have him, of course.

With the additions to his roster for 2021, the one thing missing is a hooker of Smith’s skill, leadership and knowledge.

This is a team that already boasts David Fifita, AJ Brimson, Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, Jamal Fogarty, Kevin Proctor and young guns like Moeaki Fotuaika, Phillip Sami and Brian Kelly.

There’s a premiership there.

If Smith is on board, it could be 2021.

If he isn’t, it isn’t too far away… if everything goes right.

Immortal and two-time premiership-winner Andrew Johns believes Smith could play until he was 40 and make the Titans an immediate premiership contender.

“If he went to the Gold Coast they would definitely play semi-finals,” Johns told SEN on February 9.

“…he’s that much of an influential player on the field but also off it. He’s a still a little bit of a lad, he likes a beer with the boys, but he’s just such a great leader.

“He’s revered in the game. If he went there, he’d have a huge impact, not just on the team and the club, but on the community.”

The NRL would love Smith’s head splashed across billboards in South-East Queensland. Especially after the Brisbane Lions’ breakout 2020 AFL season and a horrid showing from the Broncos. It would also give the Titans the undisputed edge against the Suns in the battle for hearts and minds on the ‘Sunset Strip’ and surrounding regions.

But, at the end of the day, this could just be all of us out here in rugby league land tossing up what would be a remarkable story.

We are just weeks away from the premiership starting.

Yet here we all are, talking about Smith.

Whether he’s playing or not, you can guarantee, Cameron Smith is laughing his arse off.

@woodward_curtis