Monday night saw the banality of the universe maintained with another two competition points to the Melbourne Storm, a result which took the club to a record-equalling 13th consecutive win.
Yes siree, 2013 so far has been enterprise as usual for Craig Bellamy and his cartel of systemised androids. Death, taxes, yada yada yada.
Like always, at the pointy end of his painstakingly precise on-field operation is his three favourite sons, showing off and making everyone else look stupid with their skill, intelligence and larynx-high karate feet.
However, with all due respect to the outstanding kicking games of Cooper Cronk and Billy Slater, undoubtedly the naturally anointed Dad of this valuable triumvirate is the inexterminable Cameron Smith.
Melbourne’s super-spotless skipper has ticked the box for pretty much everything that’s worth achieving in rugby league. At the age of 29, his playing record is already of the highest degree of exemplary footballing nerdiness.
This is complemented by his fine work as a cordial dude off the field, where he’s considered not only an appreciated footy advocate, but also a stamp of approval for humanity as a likeable human being.
Smith is the kind of fella that inspires parents to have their kids play the game of rugby league. And why stop there? He even inspires parents to just have more kids.
Whenever he finally decides to call it quits from the game, leaving vanquished opposition hookers, NSW and uninspiring second-rate blokes of average repute to resume their existences, his post-career plaudits could really be anything.
But for all of his exploits and acclaim as a footballer, and his ability to accelerate growth at the junior level in grass roots footy and the population, his qualities as a forceful magnet for prized trophy goods could reach even greater untravelled heights in 2013.
This year he is staring at the opportunity of securing a four-piece set of regalia that would send the rugby league populace, including all of its superlative-dry scribes, stats freaks and prissy jewellery enthusiasts, twenty-four carat hog-wild with excitement.
With success already achieved in the World Club Challenge in February, and with State of Origin, the NRL Premiership and a World Cup all up for grabs this year, what’s the chances of Smith having his paws on an unprecedented four major trophies as a winning captain in 2013?
Can the woolly Brisbane-born hooker defy the odds of probability and be the prize-lofting face on quadruplicate presentation daises in one year?
Cast your mind back to the fanfare surrounding Darren Lockyer’s 2006 treble consisting of the Origin shield, NRL premiership trophy and Tri-Nations cup. It was a beefy sweep of the gift shop for the unassuming cueball from Roma that catapulted him to the Golden Boot and multiplied the already-high levels of affection he received from the public.
With 25% more spoils including a World Championship, the spread sitting in front of Smith in 2013 is a richer smorgasbord that stands to be more memorable if completed.
Barring a breakout of malaria in the south, the Storm should no doubt be in the mix for a deep September plunge, however they face such hurdles as the back-to-back hoodoo that has haunted defending champions for 20 years and the cruel ravages of the evil representative season.
As for Origin? There’s no doubt there’s a reliable pattern of positive results that has formed for Smith’s Maroons over the years, but with two games in Sydney in 2013, it could be a higher hurdle for Queensland than usual.
Then there’s World Cup glory where Australia will be red-hot morals to snare the crown, but as we all know, the Kangaroos have been the victims of unexpected burglary ambushes in the showpiece final before.
Can Smith add a spectacular accomplishment to a record that already borders on near-perfection?
It may be an early season pie-in-a-crazy-dreamer’s-sky that could be scuttled by any number of possible pitfalls.
But pouncing positions for a purse of prizes don’t get much more prime than this.
