During the 1988 Great Britain Lions tour of Australia, Smith was selected at 20 years of age to play for the Brisbane rugby league team against the visiting British. In 1990 he moved from Brisbane's Easts Tigers to Sydney's Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. Conspicuous in headgear after suffering a severe concussion in 1991, Smith made his State of Origin début as a reserve for Queensland in the 1992 series. During the 1993 State of Origin series Smith played from the interchange bench n Games 2 and 3, both losses.