Damian Drum (Murray, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

From one football code to another: this weekend, there will be another sport played in Melbourne that will involve a record-breaking feat. As AFL finals move interstate on Saturday, the NRL finals will be played in the nation's sporting capital of Melbourne. It is the Melbourne Storm versus Parramatta Eels, where the Storm captain, Cameron Smith, will break the all-time record for the most NRL games ever played. Cameron will pass Darren Lockyer when he runs out for the Storm for his 356th game. This record-breaking achievement is not only a staggering individual feat that Cam has achieved in his professional career; he's also the leading pointscorer. He's the third highest pointscorer in the history of the NRL. He's played the most Origin games for Queensland. He's the captain of Melbourne Storm, he's the captain of Queensland and he's the captain of Australia. Along with Craig Bellamy, he was instrumental in keeping the team together after their salary-cap issues many years ago. He won the 2006 Dally M Medal and in 2007 was awarded the Golden Boot Award for the world's best player. He also captained Australia to victory in the 2013 World Cup. He's achievements off the field are just as impressive. He has been an ambassador and a supporter of a number of charities, as he endeavours to help out those people who are less fortunate than himself. I would like to congratulate Cam, Craig Bellamy and the whole on-field team, and Bart Campbell and the off-field team, and wish the Storm all the best as they take on Parramatta this Saturday night at AAMI Park—and then move on to whoever's game enough to come down and challenge them.