Smith applauds NRL's stand-down policy on player behaviour

RLPA president and Storm skipper Cameron Smith has backed the NRL's 'no-fault' stand down policy despite the players' union objections.

Smith gave his weighty support to the ARL Commission's new policy at the NRL's season launch on Thursday night.

The Melbourne icon doubled down on the passionate address about the off-field standards of players that he delivered during a captains' phone hook-up that Greenberg scheduled recently.

"On that phone call I spoke about it," Smith said.

"Any players that are caught up in serious offences they need to face the music. Because at what stage is the playing group going to get the message if we just sit on our hands?

"I made that pretty clear.

"Let's hope that everyone's learnt from what's happened over the last six months and we don't see another off-season like we've had this year."

Like plenty in the game, Smith is bracing for more sex tapes to be made public after a series of unsavoury recordings have dragged the game through the mud.

Players caught up in serious offences need to face the music

Storm captain Cameron Smith

Penrith are currently reeling from two videos involving five-eighth Tyrone May – for which he has been charged with four counts of recording two separate women without consent and distributing those recordings without consent.

Smith said the onus was on his peers to clean up their act after a summer of horror headlines for the code, conceding player behaviour is holding the sport back.

"I love the game. I don't like to see it getting hammered the way it is," Smith said.

"I want it to prosper. I want it to be the best game in the country. I believe we have the best product in the country, it's just taken a hit over the last six months, over the off-season, over the pre-season.

"The only people that can change it are the players. They've just got to make smart decisions. I haven't seen a lot of this stuff going around.

"I've obviously heard that there's multiple videos and that sort of stuff but it really just comes down to common sense and just doing the right thing".

Smith said he had no knowledge of any videos such as those that have involved May occurring at the Storm.

"I've never seen any videos of my teammates," he said.

"I don't know whether they've ever filmed any videos.

"If they have they certainly haven't passed them on to me because I think they know what my reaction would be.

"I've made it pretty clear to our playing group where I stand on that and where I stand on player behaviour as far as what's acceptable and what's not".