Damien Smith (born 4 July 1974) is an Australian former

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

footballer who played for the

St George Dragons The St. George Dragons is an Australian rugby league football club from St George District in Sydney, New South Wales that played in the top level New South Wales competition and Australian Rugby League competitions from the 1921 until th ...

, St Helens and the

North Queensland Cowboys The North Queensland Cowboys is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, the largest town in North Queensland. They compete in Australia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL). Sinc ...

. A versatile outside back, he primarily played .

Background

A Moree Boars junior, Smith attended

Ipswich Grammar School , motto_translation = Work and Honour , address = Darling Street , city = Ipswich , state = Queensland , postcode = 4305 , country = Australia , coordinates = , type = Independent, single-sex, day & boa ...

before being signed by the

Playing career

In Round 21 of the

1995 ARL season The 1995 ARL premiership was the 88th season of professional rugby league football in Australia, and the first to be run by the Australian Rugby League following the hand-over of the Premiership's administration by the New South Wales Rugby Lea ...

, Smith made his first grade debut in St George's 50–14 win over the

. In Round 2 of the

1996 ARL season The 1996 ARL premiership (also known as the 1996 Optus Cup due to sponsorship from Optus) was the 89th season of professional rugby league football in Australia, and the second to be administered by the Australian Rugby League (ARL). Twenty tea ...

, Smith scored his first try in a 16–24 loss to the

Cronulla Sharks The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Cronulla, in the Sutherland Shire, Southern Sydney, New South Wales. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australasia's premier rugby league ...

. That season, Smith played 10 games for the Dragons in their run to the

Grand Final Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. S ...

. In 1997, Smith became a regular for the Dragons, playing 17 games, starting 12 games at fullback. In 1998, Smith joined St Helens. He played 22 games for the club, starting 21 at centre, scoring eight tries. In 1999, Smith returned to Australia, signing for the

. That season, he played 12 games scoring nine tries. In 2000, he started 15 games, predominantly on the wing. In 2001, his final year at the Cowboys, he played just three games.

Statistics

ARL/NRL

: ''Statistics are correct to the end of the 2001 season''

Super League

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Damien 1974 births Living people Australian rugby league players North Queensland Cowboys players Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league centres Rugby league wingers St. George Dragons players St Helens R.F.C. players Place of birth missing (living people)