Even Tyson Smoothy is shocked by his rapid elevation to the NRL.
The 20-year-old made his debut for Melbourne Storm during their Round 1 victory over South Sydney at AAMI Park, capping a three-month rise from the relative wilderness.
A former Kawana Dolphins junior, Smoothy has only played two Queensland Cup matches for the Sunshine Coast but one thing led to another during the off-season and he’s now relishing game time on the big stage.
“It’s pretty special,” he told sunshinecoastnews.com.au.
“It (the experience) went really fast. I only got 10 minutes, but it felt like I was out there for about 2 minutes.
“I just tried to soak up everything, like running out on to the field.
“I just tried to enjoy it.”
Smoothy admits he’s surprised by his quick promotion to the NRL.
“I don’t think anyone really expected it,” he said.
“I didn’t see it coming.”
But the pieces fell into place for him during the pre-season.
Smoothy was one of four Falcons players invited to a short summer stint at Melbourne, as part of the clubs’ affiliation.
“Coming down, it was only meant to be for four weeks, but I’m still here and I’ve got a debut, which is a dream come true,” he said.
Smoothy went to Melbourne “to prove a point”.
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He caught the attention of Storm officials with his consistent form and accurate and determined style.
“After the four weeks they asked me to stay another couple of weeks for the trials and then to stay for another few weeks,” he said.
An injury to hooker Harry Grant suddenly opened the door for Smoothy, and he found himself in the frame for a bench spot.
Coach Craig Bellamy gave him the good news leading up to their first game of the season.
“He pulled me into his office and had a little chat to me about it. My brain was going crazy,” Smoothy said.
He said he too nervous on game day.
“I knew I wasn’t going on straight away, so I didn’t want to get pumped up too early.”
Team-mates were a calming presence, particularly Chris Lewis, who made his debut for the Storm last year after impressing for the Falcons.
“He made it a bit easier. I was comfortable around him and we had a bit of a chat. He helped me through the day, which is pretty handy.”
Smoothy replaced starting rake Brandon Smith in the second half and notched 10 minutes, handling the ball 20 times and making seven tackles.
Family members were in the stands.
“They flew down on the day of the game, so everyone got to be there for when I played, which was a pretty special,” he said.
He’s unsure what will happen next.
“But I’m ready to go again,” he said.
“Harry’s coming back in a few weeks so hopefully I can get a few games in before he’s back but if not, then I’ll take Round 1 as a good experience and hopefully play some good footy for the Falcons.”
He’ll keep pressing his claims for a full-time NRL contract, ideally with Melbourne.
“Being at the Storm is kind of my dream so if I can make a long-term future here that would be unreal, but we’ll see what happens,” he said.
Born in Toowoomba, Smoothy played some junior footy for Toowoomba Brothers before moving with his family to the Sunshine Coast.
He was with Kawana from under-7s and started to get noticed as a teenager.
The Mountain Creek State High product played for the Queensland under-16s and under-18s, was part of the Sunshine Coast Falcons under-18 team and was in the Brisbane Broncos under-20s.
He had a stint in the Kawana A-grade side and became a force for the Falcons’ Colts team, earning man-of-the-match honours in their grand final win in the state under-20 competition in 2019.
Smoothy impressed in his Queensland Cup debut for the Falcons in Round 1 of 2019 but, with Grant in the team then, he did not get another run in the team that year.
He was invited to a trial and train stint with Penrith at the start of 2020 and was offered a place in their feeder team in the New South Wales Cup, but he opted to return to the Falcons and push on there.
He played for the Falcons in Round 1 of 2020 but the season was then cancelled due to COVID-19. Now, he’s making his presence felt on the big stage in 2021.
While a string of Falcons signings have gone on to play for the Storm in recent years (Lewis, Justin Olam, Nicho Hynes, Tui Kamikamica, Darryn Schonig), it’s believed Smoothy is the first local product from the Sunshine Coast to go via the club to the big time.
