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REIMIS Smith won’t be tripping over his famous father’s shadow.
“Nah,’’ said the son of former Kiwi international Tyran Smith.
“I have all the boys tipping me up on how to deal with it. Everyone is related to a famous footballer round here.’’
And Smith, the latest son of a gun to storm onto the NRL scene, is half-right.
The Bulldogs boast a backline that is making the family club the club of the famous family.
With the exception of odd-man out Kerrod Holland - who might want to send his DNA to Ancestry.com just to be sure — every player in the Bulldogs backline comes from a famous footballing family.
The Belmore bloodline includes Josh and Brett Morris (father Steve “Slippery” Morris), Will Hopoate (father John Hopoate), Jeremy Marshall-King (brother Benji Marshall), Lachlan Lewis (uncle Wally Lewis), and Smith.
“I am sure Kerrod could dig up an uncle or cousin that played in the NRL,’’ Josh Morris said.
“We will help him search up Singleton way where he is from.’’
Smith joined the rugby league royals when he replaced Marcelo Montoya on the wing in June.
And the 21-year-old’s famous family does not end with his father.
“Anthony Mundine is my uncle,’’ Smith said.
“My mum (Kelly Mundine) is Choc’s sister. And Blake Ferguson is actually my cousin. So yeah I don’t have to look too far for advice, but my dad has been my biggest influence. He has been the driving force behind my football.’’
Smith set his sights on going into the family business while still a kid.
“That was the goal from very early on,’’ Smith said.
“I was always around NRL players and they all believe in me. I guess I always had the talent and I just backed it and worked hard. Dad always believed I could do it and I can’t thank him enough for his support.’’
Uncle Anthony — the Dragons star who went on to become a boxing champion — is never short of advice.
“He talks a lot,’’ Smith joked. “But nah, he is great too. He tells me to back myself in, believe in my talent.’’
The best advice may just come from Smith’s twin teammates — the NRL superstars who long ago stepped out of their famous father’s shadow.
“There is always going to be a comparison,’’ Josh said.
“But you take the good with the bad. You just have to be your own player. You have to work hard and make your own name. That is what drove me and Brett.
“There were people that used to say we only made representative sides because of our father’s name. That just made us work harder and that is where our work ethic started.’’
Josh has no doubt the new breed will make their own NRL names.
“I am sure these young blokes will be fine,’’ Josh said.
“They are all level headed and they work hard. They are playing some good football and will continue on. Eventually the comparisons will stop.
“We were known as the sons of Slippery early on but now we are known as ourselves. We eventually gained our own identity and these guys will too.
“They will play their way out of the shadows.’’
And while they not be Lambs or Mortimers, all are welcome at the Bulldogs.
“When you grow up around rugby league it is hard not to want to be part of it,’’ said Bulldogs chairwoman Lynne Anderson.
“It is great to see these you men following their dreams and we welcome all families at the family club.’’
Smith, who still lives in the family home, has so far proved a revelation for the Bulldogs with the 196cm flyer scoring five tries in his nine NRL games.
Despite already tipping the scales at 98kg, Smith has no intention on becoming a famous forward like his father.
“Dad actually started on the wing before moving into the back row,’’ Smith said.
“But while I hope I get all his toughness I wouldn’t mind keeping a bit of my uncle’s skill and speed and staying out in the backs.’’
“Nah,’’ said the son of former Kiwi international Tyran Smith.
“I have all the boys tipping me up on how to deal with it. Everyone is related to a famous footballer round here.’’
And Smith, the latest son of a gun to storm onto the NRL scene, is half-right.
The Bulldogs boast a backline that is making the family club the club of the famous family.
With the exception of odd-man out Kerrod Holland - who might want to send his DNA to Ancestry.com just to be sure — every player in the Bulldogs backline comes from a famous footballing family.
The Belmore bloodline includes Josh and Brett Morris (father Steve “Slippery” Morris), Will Hopoate (father John Hopoate), Jeremy Marshall-King (brother Benji Marshall), Lachlan Lewis (uncle Wally Lewis), and Smith.
“I am sure Kerrod could dig up an uncle or cousin that played in the NRL,’’ Josh Morris said.
“We will help him search up Singleton way where he is from.’’
Smith joined the rugby league royals when he replaced Marcelo Montoya on the wing in June.
And the 21-year-old’s famous family does not end with his father.
“Anthony Mundine is my uncle,’’ Smith said.
“My mum (Kelly Mundine) is Choc’s sister. And Blake Ferguson is actually my cousin. So yeah I don’t have to look too far for advice, but my dad has been my biggest influence. He has been the driving force behind my football.’’
Smith set his sights on going into the family business while still a kid.
“That was the goal from very early on,’’ Smith said.
“I was always around NRL players and they all believe in me. I guess I always had the talent and I just backed it and worked hard. Dad always believed I could do it and I can’t thank him enough for his support.’’
Uncle Anthony — the Dragons star who went on to become a boxing champion — is never short of advice.
“He talks a lot,’’ Smith joked. “But nah, he is great too. He tells me to back myself in, believe in my talent.’’
The best advice may just come from Smith’s twin teammates — the NRL superstars who long ago stepped out of their famous father’s shadow.
“There is always going to be a comparison,’’ Josh said.
“But you take the good with the bad. You just have to be your own player. You have to work hard and make your own name. That is what drove me and Brett.
“There were people that used to say we only made representative sides because of our father’s name. That just made us work harder and that is where our work ethic started.’’
Josh has no doubt the new breed will make their own NRL names.
“I am sure these young blokes will be fine,’’ Josh said.
“They are all level headed and they work hard. They are playing some good football and will continue on. Eventually the comparisons will stop.
“We were known as the sons of Slippery early on but now we are known as ourselves. We eventually gained our own identity and these guys will too.
“They will play their way out of the shadows.’’
And while they not be Lambs or Mortimers, all are welcome at the Bulldogs.
“When you grow up around rugby league it is hard not to want to be part of it,’’ said Bulldogs chairwoman Lynne Anderson.
“It is great to see these you men following their dreams and we welcome all families at the family club.’’
Smith, who still lives in the family home, has so far proved a revelation for the Bulldogs with the 196cm flyer scoring five tries in his nine NRL games.
Despite already tipping the scales at 98kg, Smith has no intention on becoming a famous forward like his father.
“Dad actually started on the wing before moving into the back row,’’ Smith said.
“But while I hope I get all his toughness I wouldn’t mind keeping a bit of my uncle’s skill and speed and staying out in the backs.’’
