Living out of a car, to Player of the Year

Brandon Smith. “Bulldog”. “Wombat”. “The Cheese”. A character of the game that has turned into a cult figure among fans.

Last night he held a Q & A with Christian Welch on the Storm’s Instagram Live and he talked about what he is learning from the “GOAT”, Sandor and Munster training for social media, and what it’s like getting a spray from coach Craig Bellamy.

He also talked about moving to Brisbane in 2014 as a 16 year old after being sacked for off-field issues by the Cowboys.

“It was hard getting sacked by the coach, sitting there with my Mum and Dad” Smith told Welch.

“At the time my older brother had moved to Brisbane to play for Wynnum Manly and I moved back in with him”

“We had a few run ins…I ended up hanging out with all my mates that had moved from to Brisbane…and I ended up for like 3 months, sleeping in my mates car”

Smith went on to explain he actually preferred it. He liked hanging with his mates having a good time, having no place to stay and running out of gas, ringing RACQ for $15 of fuel every now and then until they cancelled their subscriptions.

And it seemed to spur him on.

He would continue to turn up everday to train for the Wynnum Manly Seagulls in the Mal Meninga Cup. Not letting his unique living arrangements interfer with his football

“My footy was still good…sleeping in a car or not, I’m still gonna rock up and train my arse off. Same with the game, I’m gonna play as hard as I can.”

And that he did.

A standout in the Mal Meninga Cup that year, winning the Player of the Year award and earning a new contract with the Cowboys.

(Quotes via Storm Instagram)