Melbourne Storm skipper Cameron Smith opens door to rival offers as he weighs up the open market 

As he prepares for his 250th game against Cronulla at AAMI Park, Smith told The Sunday Mail he would not rush negotiations as he mulls over the most important, and possibly final, contract of his glittering career.

The development comes as Brisbane legend Kevin Walters, now an assistant coach at Melbourne Storm, claimed the Broncos would be "silly" not to have Smith on their recruitment hit-list.

Smith is off-contract at the end of next season, but the Storm's new owners have listed his retention as a matter of urgency to provide stability for a regime free of News Limited involvement.
The Logan junior is keen to finish a one-club icon, but he turns 30 this month and wants to explore his value in the same way Thurston did before he re-signed with the Cowboys in March.
The availability of Smith would create a mass bidding war among NRL rivals given his standing as Australia and Queensland skipper and one of the code's all-time hooking greats.

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"I'm 30 this year so if I sign a lengthy deal, it's more than likely going to be my last one ... so it won't just come down to someone throwing an offer and me accepting it," Smith said.
"When I first started playing, I always said I wanted to be a one-club man but as we've all seen with 'JT' (Thurston) and his last negotiation, it is a pretty important contract for me.
"A lot of things are involved in it ... for example, the length of a new deal and whether Melbourne wants to give me a long deal.

"I haven't had a chance to sit down formally and gauge what they are thinking.
"At this stage, my focus is getting the Origin series out of the way and then hopefully being able to sit down with the new owners and see what they are thinking."
New Melbourne boss Mark Evans is unlikely to oppose any Smith request for a lengthy deal.
A key bargaining chip for the Storm is the loyalty shown by coach Craig Bellamy, who signed a five-year deal in February and has helped turn Smith into an Origin and Test force.
An added attraction is star duo Billy Slater and Cooper Cronk, who are tied to the Storm until the end of 2015 and 2016 respectively.
The Queensland rake was initially linked with the Broncos three years ago. Smith ultimately pledged his allegiance to the Storm, but concedes he and wife Barbara, who have three children, miss family support networks on offer in Brisbane.

"Throughout my whole career, I have stayed loyal to the Storm and I have never come off-contract at Melbourne," he said.
"I have always been tied up, but they understand I have a young family now. My three kids and the wife are in Melbourne when I'm away and it does get hard down there at times, the club and Craig Bellamy are aware of that too.
"We'll have to work through it. It will be a lengthy thing - I will weigh up other offers as well."

Walters appreciates the difficulties confronting a rugby league player in AFL-mad Melbourne and says he wouldn't be surprised if the Broncos went hard to bring Smith home.
"They'd be silly if they didn't go for him," the former Broncos skipper said.
"All clubs are looking for quality players but you can't always get your hands on them when you like.
"I don't know what the Broncos' plans are, if Cameron came on the market, clubs would be interested in having a chat and Brisbane being his home town is one club that would be keen on him for sure. It (Smith's future) is a while away but he is the cog that makes this place tick as much as anyone.
"His experience and guidance with the players, his guidance on the field, you don't get many players of his quality on the open market.
"I'd be surprised if Melbourne let him get on to the open market because we know his importance."
source : http://www.foxsports.com.au