Melbourne Storm captain Cameron Smith is still in talks with the club over his playing future

MELBOURNE chief executive Dave Donaghy has moved to quash claims Cameron Smith hasn’t been offered a contract extension for 2019. Speculation has surrounded Smith’s playing future for some weeks, with the Storm skipper hinting and his side’s grand final loss to the Sydney Roosters that there had been some sort of a contract stalemate.The 35-year-old had even tossed up the prospect of hanging up his boots with a post-game remark following their preliminary final win over Cronulla suggesting he might follow Billy Slater into retirement if
Melbourne won the 2018 decider.But on Thursday, Donaghy hosed down fears the champion hooker would retire without a fitting send-off.When asked on Macquarie Sports Radio whether Smith would play on, Donaghy replied: “That is the plan, everyone’s been asking me the question.“I never have been one to work towards other’s timelines.“We’re in continued discussions and there’s nothing untoward around any of that so we expect to get that done at some point soon.”Many were left confused after the grand final when Smith said he’d play on “if I get a contract” despite reports last month that he’d agreed to terms.While Donaghy wouldn’t get into the differences between contracts and “letters of offer”, he confirmed Smith had been sent a deal earlier this week.