Pickers will not be intimidated on their quest for three-peat: Smith

The Scorpions were the first team to test the all conquering Pickers' mental strength in 2022 with what Pickers coach Matt Lantry described as niggling tactics and others labelled intimidation.

"To be honest we probably were intimidated a bit and didn't know how to properly deal with those sort of tactics," said Smith who returned to first grade in the Pickers 20-8 win against Western Suburbs last Saturday, after surgery to repair a syndesmosis injury suffered in round one.

"They tried it on us and then Cessnock did as well and we struggled with it at first, but in the end we got the last laugh putting 40 on them in the 2022 grand final.

"We're a different team now and you are not going to suck us in and we've also got two legitimate enforcers in Mitch Cullen and Reid Alchin.

"You'd be pretty silly to try anything on with either of them around. They won't be sucked in for penalties like they probably were at the Bulldogs. They are masters of controlled aggression now."

The Pickers pack will be without Cullen with concussion and inspirational leader and lock Sam Anderson for the rest of the injured season with surgery on a bicep injury, but Smith is confident they will have the firepower to give returning halfback Brock Lamb and his halves partner Chad O'Donnell a good platform to work from.

"Ando is a huge loss for us. He is just so inspirational. He tackles harder than anyone, and hits the ball up harder than him," Smith said.

"He and Alex (Langbride) have been such incredible leaders for us. You know they will be there for you week in, week out. Doing all the hard stuff and keeping us together.

"We are all going to have to stand up with Ando not available, but we can do it."

Smith and Lamb went to school together with Matt Soper-Lawler and Jayden Butterfield and were part of winning Pickers junior teams.

While Lamb was at the Knights, the other three and Gary Anderson went through the hard times of a wooden spoon and when players were just as likely to be injured by landing on the rock-hard Coronation Oval at training than being hit by an opponent.

Smith, who had stints with the Scorpions and Goannas, said one of the hardest parts of those times was that the struggling team rarely rated a mention in conversations.

"We were either ignored or compared with the 2010-11 premiership team. The die-hard fans still turned up but it wasn't a happy place," he said.

"After going through that, you can understand why there is no shortage of motivation to keep this going.

"We have gone from wooden spoon to matching the 2010-11 teams and being talked about as potentially one of the greatest teams the club has had.

"That's pretty motivating. You are talking about Panno (Terry Pannowitz) and Burkey's (Brian Burke) teams and even before that."

Smith said while a three-peat wasn't talked about openly, the team remained motivated to keep pushing and seeing just how much they can achieve.

"I think within all the boys who were there in 2021, when the season was cut short with us so far in front, that there is a feeling we probably should have had three and we want to make it three," he said.

"There's new blokes to the team like Connor (O'Beirne) who came to us from France who wanted to be part of one as well.

"I know I have been on the sidelines, but from what I have seen and talking the boys winning this one will be even harder than the other two. The competition keeps on getting better."

Smith admitted to some nerves before Saturday's game against West and said it was a relief to get through uninjured and keeping up with play.

"I was a bit nervous coming back. More so the lungs than anything else. You wonder about your fitness, whether you will blow out and let your mates down," he said.

"Once the game starts, the adrenalin kicks in and you just make sure you make your tackles and push yourself through.

"I was relieved when the boys told me it was one of the quickest games they had all year. It was super quick, super tough and good to get away with the win."

Smith said his injury came in round one during a simple hit-up.

"I had a hit up and got sort of twisted up in the tackle with two blokes on top and one guy around my ankle," he said.

"I went to the ground and it felt like I had rolled my ankle in the tackle, but it wasn't painful or anything.

"I got up to play the ball and my stability had gone. It felt like my ankle would keep rolling while I was trying to take steps.

"I was a bit worried. I had rolled ankles before and it's just super painful, but the stability had gone.

"We didn't realise how serious it was at the time."

Smith learnt he would need surgery to repair the injury on the same day he was selected to play for NSW Country.

"It was tough, but I had great support from my wife, family and all the people at the Pickers," he said.

"Probably the hardest bit was not being around the boys all the time at training. Lamby popped around, but the other boys had work and training and other commitment and I really missed them."