{"id":365199,"date":"2024-02-04T04:17:13","date_gmt":"2024-02-04T05:17:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=365199"},"modified":"2024-02-04T10:04:02","modified_gmt":"2024-02-04T10:04:02","slug":"fittlers-cheeky-warning-to-smith-after-coaching-decision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=365199","title":{"rendered":"Fittler's cheeky warning to Smith after coaching decision"},"content":{"rendered":"

B\ufeffrad Fittler<\/a> has reacted to the decision from Cameron Smith<\/a> to step down as Maroons<\/a> assistant coach, with the former NSW boss admitting he was 'surprised' by the news.<\/p>\n

The 40-year-old announced his decision to move on from his role with Queensland, ending a lethal combination with Billy Slater<\/a> that helped the side to two-straight State of Origin series victories.<\/p>\n

Smith will now move into coaching at the junior level with his son's Currumbin Eagles team, with former Manly hooker Matt Ballin replacing him on Slater's staff.<\/p>\n

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Speaking on Nine's Today Show over the weekend, Fittler – who himself will be out of the Origin arena for the first time in six years in 2024 – admitted the challenge that lies ahead for Smith might be even harder.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

"I was [surprised], but then I heard that he was going to coach his son's team which is going to be much tougher," Fittler said.<\/p>\n

"I look forward to Cam's mid-year report … I'm not sure the age group, but we'll get some reports from the parents. \ufeff<\/p>\n

"Matt Ballin has taken Cam Smith's position and he's been doing this a long time and he's been involved in their junior system with Billy.<\/p>\n

"They will be prepared – they've got a great team and a great coach."<\/p>\n

Smith had worked alongside Slater for the past two years, developing just as strong of a bond in the coach's box and on the training paddock as they shared on the field for the Storm, Maroons and Kangaroos during their careers.<\/p>\n

But with the likes of Slater, Ballin, Johnathan Thurston and Josh Hannay in the mix, there's no shortage of experienced and quality leaders for the team moving forward.\ufeff<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

B\ufeffrad Fittler has reacted to the decision from Cameron Smith to step down as Maroons assistant coach, with the former NSW boss admitting he was […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":365201,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365199"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=365199"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365199\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":365202,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365199\/revisions\/365202"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/365201"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=365199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=365199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=365199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}