Maroons captain Cameron Smith has been held up as the perfect model for what it means to be a leader to a class of young Queensland students and on Monday he surprised them in the best possible way.
In an effort to address sometimes aggressive behaviour amongst boys in his Walloon State School Year 2/3 class, rugby league tragic and Ipswich Jets assistant manager Michael Nunn (pictured below with Cameron) went in search of a positive role model who embodied qualities he wanted his boys to emulate.
He spoke of Smith's calmness, how he never lets aggression get the better of him and how he is one of the great captains in rugby league history not because he is the biggest or the fastest but because he is the smartest.
He put posters up around the classroom urging his students to "be like Cam Smith" and hoped that one day the Storm, Queensland and Kangaroos skipper might write the class a letter of encouragement.
What happened next not only shocked the kids, but also Mr Nunn.
"I e-mailed Cam and told him about our room and how we use his name, hoping to get the boys a letter from him saying well done," Mr Nunn said in a post on Facebook.
"I never heard back and thought not too much more of it. I thought I'd just get the boys another reward if we reached our goal – our record is 30 days without an incident!
"Today he turned up to our room to see our class and thank us for being like Cam Smith.
"He didn't tell me he was coming.
"On his family holiday he brought his wife and children out to see our class. He brought each student a football and signed them.
"Cam Smith has fans for life in 2/3. My students will be telling the story about the Queensland Australian captain surprising them for their whole life."
One of the posters at Walloon State School, west of Ipswich.
