{"id":911503,"date":"2026-09-30T22:26:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T22:26:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/911503\/"},"modified":"2026-09-30T22:26:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T22:26:15","slug":"nrl-grand-final-news-2026-roosters-star-billy-smith-reflects-on-injury-history-three-acls-andrew-johns-influence-exclusive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/911503\/","title":{"rendered":"NRL grand final news 2026: Roosters star Billy Smith reflects on injury history, three ACLs, Andrew Johns influence, exclusive"},"content":{"rendered":"

Of all the players featuring in this weekend\u2019s NRL<\/a> grand final, few have had to overcome more than Sydney Roosters<\/a> centre Billy Smith. <\/p>\n

After making his debut towards the end of 2019, Smith has gone to hell and back on the injury front, limiting him to just 62 matches.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Billy Smith limps off the field in 2021.\u00a0NRL Images<\/p>\n

Smith was tipped to fill the void left by Latrell Mitchell<\/a> in 2020, but suffered the second ACL rupture of his career, after previously suffering the same injury to his other knee during the 2018 NSW Cup grand final. <\/p>\n

It was a bitter blow for the local eastern suburbs product, but nothing he couldn\u2019t come back from. But jump to 2021 and Smith was out again, this time with a shoulder injury. <\/p>\n

Once he got back on the field that year, it only took three matches before Smith was sidelined with a season-ending Lisfranc foot injury. <\/p>\n

Smith rebounded and got back to the NRL in 2022, only to suffer a third ACL rupture, ending his season with just seven more appearances.<\/p>\n

The rangy Scots College alumni made it back onto the field in 2023 and played in the side\u2019s elimination final that year, but fractured his jaw in the match.<\/p>\n

That wasn\u2019t expected to be a long-term issue and all signs pointed towards Smith becoming a regular fixture for the Tricolours in the 2024 season.<\/p>\n

Instead, the luckless Smith spent that whole year on the sidelines due to ankle and hip injuries, placing serious doubt over his NRL future.<\/p>\n

At that point, few could have blamed Smith for throwing in the towel, nor would anyone have batted an eyelid if the Roosters and Trent Robinson<\/a> gave up on him.<\/p>\n

Fast-forward and Smith has finally found consistency, playing 18 games last year and 17 this season, brushing off an E-bike crash<\/a> and locking down the left centre role, making it to the first grand final of his career against the Knights this weekend.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an incredible story of perseverance, even if Smith admits there were times it felt like competing for the NRL\u2019s biggest prize wasn\u2019t on the cards. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d be lying to you if I said there weren\u2019t so many times of doubt,\u201d a reflective yet jovial Smith told nine.com.au earlier this week.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was like four or five years of just absolute carnage for me, where I was on the operating table multiple times each year \u2013 but you know what, I\u2019ve always dared to dream and that\u2019s what I\u2019ve had to keep doing over the years. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve worked my backside off just get myself on the field. For me to be here grand final week is pretty surreal, to be honest … I\u2019m pinching myself a little bit.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe challenge for me has always just been playing consistent footy and that\u2019s been something I\u2019ve obviously struggled with. Once I\u2019m on the field consistently, I\u2019m pretty confident in my ability and I know Robbo is confident in what I can do.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Billy Smith celebrates after the preliminary final.\u00a0NRL Images<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m grateful for Robbo for having my back and sticking by me and this is what it\u2019s all about \u2013 repaying the faith and helping us win a comp.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith has proven to be an asset on both sides of the ball, crossing for 12 tries and making 17 linebreaks, while operating at over 88 per cent tackle efficiency.<\/p>\n

But his journey back from the darkest periods imaginable to an NRL decider took more than just his internal beliefs and dreams. <\/p>\n

Smith said it \u201ctakes a village\u201d to support an NRL player and heaped praise on those closest to him, especially during the times things looked bleak.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m lucky that I\u2019ve got such a rock solid family and group of mates around me as well, they\u2019ve stuck by me through thick and thin,\u201d the 26-year-old said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s special to be in a situation like this, because although it\u2019s special for me, it\u2019s special for all them as well. They\u2019ve ridden the wave with me from the start and been there at the lowest of times, but now the highest times on Sunday.\u201d<\/p>\n

While family and friends are obvious pillars of support for all athletes, Smith had a surprising figure in his corner throughout his rollercoaster journey.<\/p>\n

Andrew Johns<\/a>, arguably the greatest player to ever lace up a pair of boots and kick a Steeden, has been a mentor for Smith over the years<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Andrew Johns.\u00a0Getty<\/p>\n

While the eighth Immortal will no doubt be cheering his beloved Knights to victory on Sunday night, there would be a soft spot for Smith at the same time.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a good man Joey \u2013 we live around the corner from each other and I always see him down at the beach,\u201d the Roosters star said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s lived a very rugby league life, probably a bit more extreme than me, but he\u2019s lived a similar life and knows all the ins and outs. He understands the game and the injuries that come with it, and he understands the off-field stuff too. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been great having Joey in my corner as a non-biased person to lean on at times when things were quite touch. He knows my story, he knows what I\u2019ve been through and he\u2019s been a great mentor for me during my journey.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith is one of 14 players in the Roosters\u2019 team this weekend without grand final experience and said he would lean on James Tedesco, Victor Radley, Nat Butcher, Daniel Tupou and Angus Crichton throughout the emotionally-charged week.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Victor Radley celebrates the 2019 premiership.\u00a0Getty<\/p>\n

\u201cExperience at this time of year is very important and we\u2019re so lucky that we have a fair few individuals who\u2019ve been around at this time of year,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a little bit older now, but I\u2019m new to all of this and I\u2019ll definitely be leaning on those guys. It\u2019s 80 minutes of footy at the end of the day, but you\u2019ve got to enjoy it as well, because we don\u2019t get this feeling very often.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis week\u2019s about doing what I usually do to prepare for a game, but at the same time soaking it all in, because it\u2019s really special.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Of all the players featuring in this weekend\u2019s NRL grand final, few have had to overcome more than…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":911504,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-911503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/911503","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=911503"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/911503\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/911504"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=911503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=911503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=911503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}