Storm legend Cameron Smith is fuming with criticism of his recently released autobiography, claiming many of those questioning him have not actually read the book.
Smith has been criticised for certain sections of The Storm Within, including his recollections of Melbourne's controversial salary cap scandal in 2010 in which the club had two premierships and three minor premierships stripped while also being forced to play for no competition points for that season.
"I’ve released the book and there have been some comments made about it, but I don’t think most of these guys have even read my book," Smith told Triple M on Monday when asked about his critics.
"So they don’t really know what’s in it, which to me is baffling, how they make comments.
"And then as I said, I pointed out that when you write an autobiography, it’s your opinion - and they’re trying to say that I’m wrong.
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"Go and read my book then make a decision whether you feel that you agree with me or you don’t, and I’m happy with either way. I’m not trying to tell people to believe me.
"I’m just trying to share my story, and if you agree with me that’s great, if not that’s fine also."
The former Maroons and Kangaroos skipper said there had been several stages throughout his career when he has found himself "in the papers when a lot of the stories and headlines were just completely untrue".
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"When I started playing footy I wanted to play footy and be left alone outside of that," Smith said.
"I didn’t see it as me wanting to be in the papers or creating headlines or being a part of anything controversial. I just wanted to play footy and live a quiet simple life.
"Because you gotta remember, I’m a kid from Logan City in the southern suburbs of Brissy. I was raised by a bricky and my mum was a stay at home mum who looked after myself and my brother and sister.
"But the great thing about having an opportunity to write an autobiography is to set the record straight on a lot of those things and share my side of the story and what went down.
"When you are part of a club like the Melbourne Storm where we’ve had sustained success for such long time you tend to be an easy target for some of these stories."
Smith, who may have played the 430th and final match of his NRL career in the grand final win over Penrith last month, is still no closer to revealing whether he intends playing next year but said the Storm would be in safe hands with young star Harry Grant waiting in line for a crack at the hooker's role.
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"Everyone at the Storm, we weren't overly surprised with the way he's gone this year because hes been a part of our system for several years," Smith said.
"For the last two seasons in the Queensland Cup he's been the best if not in the top three players in that competition.
"There was absolutely no shock on our faces to see him do so well this year, rewarded at the end of the season with a spot in the Maroons squad and the opportunity to play the other night in front of 52,000 people in a decider at Suncorp Stadium, it doesn't get any better than that.
"And to top it all off he had a blinder."
