Retiring NRL referee Matt Cecchin has revealed what Melbourne great Cameron Smith was like to officiate as a player.
Smith, who retired at the end of last season, often came under scrutiny by pundits for his influence on the match officials.
The suggestion that his influence went too far is something Smith says makes him laugh, famously revealing in 2019: “I find it funny that fans and coaches and some parts of the media truly believe that I can influence referees.”
As Cecchin gets set to hang up the whistle after his final game tomorrow night – the Rabbitohs’ clash with the Dragons – he opened up on his relationship with the three-time premiership Storm great.
The veteran official with more than 350 NRL games of experience claims what separated Smith from other players was the former Melbourne captain’s ability to engage in on-field conversations without being “nasty.”
“He (Smith) is certainly one of the most intelligent players I’ve ever refereed,” Cecchin told SEN radio.
“The thing with Cameron – he did get a lot of air time with referees – but he did it in a way that he’d come and talk to you on the field and you’d feel like pausing the game, ordering a couple of coffees or a couple of beers to have a chat about it.
“He was really engaging, not in a nasty, ‘You stuffed that up’ way, but he would say, ‘Cech, I agree with that penalty, but can you keep an eye on this guy? He always seems to get caught in there and we’re not really locking it in.’
“Your mind starts to go, ‘Maybe he’s right?’, he was very, very, engaging and very clever with how he did things.
“Off the field, you’d speak to him about the game, he just knew it in such complexity, it was incredible.”
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