To everyone's surprise, including my own, he was deservedly given Man of the Match in the deciding game against NZ today.

He was more effective than George Williams was in his games and has even outshone Widdop who has had a poor series in my opinion.

Can we now assume Smith is the best English halfback in Super League?

Based on his performances in SL, no. He was solid, and provided some much needed control, and shape, but lets not go overboard here, he was the best English half in the series, but mainly because the other 2 were pretty rubbish.

Matty Smith does a solid job and is perfect when he has more expansive players around him.

Best half in superleague=no

Best suited half in superleague to international rugby=quite possibly

To be more precise he is maybe the best [u"wet weather scrum half in Super League".[/u

Spot on. By far and away his two top performances have come in pretty horrid conditions.

One top draw game doesn't make or break a career imo. Smith is still a decent player who will give you a full season of consistently 'ok' performances. Days like yesterday are however too infrequent to class him as the top HB (2012 CC final was probably his last high level performance).

What a mean spirited thread. Even when Matty puts in a MOM performance some people still can't bring themselves to just say "well done" to the lad.

I'm glad he stuffed Garry Schofields words right down his fat face.

And he saved Steve McNamaras job into the bargain.

Not a bad afternoons work. And I hope it gives Matty a confidence boost going into next season. The evidence is starting to stack up against the idiots who wanted us the stick rookies into the most important position on the field.

Well done Matty and long may you continue to defy your detractors.

Matty Smith always gives his all. He's passionate and I'm made up for him. He has his limits but who doesn't. We can't deny he's had a poor season but he's finished it with his best performance of the year so hopefully he can kick on in to next year.

I sense he's the sort of player we'd only truely miss when he wasn't here anymore. Look at Widdop yesterday. He can run a ball when his forms on but when it's not he looks dreadful and he needed Smith to pull his ar*e out the fire.

Mean spirited RL fans??? Surely some mistake!!

You really are a short term kind of guy aren't you.

One game and he's a superstar. It's the same with Wane 3/4 of the season is average and he last quarter is sublime so everything is Ok. What ever happened to a long term view of stuff? I know you didn't say it but it's the same with the people that write Lockers off after one bad performance. There's no weight given to anything that happened 6 months ago etc.

The telling factor with Smith is that in over 3 seasons you can count on one hand his truly top class performances. Compare that to youngsters like Bateman, Manfredi, Burgess & Williams and they've probably had more big games despite lacking in experience and age.

He's been average-to-poor all year, saved one of his worst performances for the Grand Final but he puts one ok performance in and suddenly all is looking great again.

Classic AUOP.

Might it be that a steady hand, holding things together in the middle of the park can allow others to flourish... ?

I like Matty as a lad and I think he's a very honest player, though not the most talented. The OP certainly has a point. He ran the game well for England and justified his call-up.

The question is what does this say about the overall standard of halfbacks in the British game?

Smith done a good job I think. Come the next tournament wiliams will have that spot nailed on.

Best half in superleague=no

That is not what the OP said. Who is a better English halfback?

Is that not what people have been saying? Stuff like being a general and having a good kicking game should be 'bread and butter' for any decent number 7 with a high number of games in the bank. He should be doing the stuff that let's the rest of the team tick over, BUT he also has to chip in with more MOM performances and big plays.

The stuff that would take him to the next level would be the money ball type pass or the show and go runs. For me if he doesn't have that now then he'll never develop it and that limits him as a truly top bracket 7.

He's a modern day Deacon imo, but just not as good. For me Deacon has impeccable kicking every week and a great range of passing to boot. When you add in his place kicking being up there with some of the best ever you have the model for what Smith should be.

George Williams.

His kicking game isn't as good as Smiths (yet) but his passing, running and defence are all superior.

Game management / decision making comes with time and experience. Guys like Sinfield, who I believe is a great decision maker, have built that knowledge up over season after season.

People will dismiss my next point but I also believe Sam Tomkins is a superior HB.

One game and he's a superstar?

Yeah, just like one poor game (out of three!) and Williams 'isn't up to it'. Nobody should be judged on the basis of one game.

Matty Smith's selection yesterday made sense, especially in the conditions. And it's all good. Going forward, we want options in the halves. I do think that, especially as he didn't get a shot in this series, Gale should be given a go ASAP to show what he's got at international level.

I'm with you about Sam

Take a quick look at Mattys pass for Whiteheads second and tell me that George could have executed that. Left to right with the defender in his face right into the bread basket. Matty is a better passer right now. With George that may come but right now Matty is a better passer and kicker.

Look at the round the back 'Gleeson style' pass that George has thrown out a few times this year - Smith can't get near that.

I'm not trying to knock Smith. He seems like a decent guy who has offered great stability. I just really want him to step up and boss the game more - it shouldn't be this close of a call on who is better a seasoned pro or a rookie

Might yesterday's improved performance not be due to the fact that he had had a good rest after being flogged all season by Wane? I think I saw some statistics from Bilko last week that showed he had made 32/33 appearances last season, more than any other Wigan player. True he had the odd week off ( Challenge Cup semi final and final weekends) but I don't think he was injured all season (although he was suspended after the Widnes game!). He is a very resilient player - I can only recall one injury a couple of seasons ago when he was taken out off the ball after kicking and damaged his ankle.
Some of us have been saying SW should have given the Williams/Rocky partnership a go at some stage last season - rotating and giving Smith an occasional well earned rest. It's not rocket science, just good man-management, which would have also given SW and everyone else the chance to see how Rocky fared at half back. And it might have led to much better performances from Smith in the crucial games last season - CC/Saints away/Grand Final.....!

Your post sums up "mean spirited".

You call his MOM performance against the worlds top team an "ok performance".

The skill on display from both teams in shocking conditions was awesome. Hardly a dropped ball all game. And Matty shone throughout. But it was "ok". Are you Garry Schofield in disguise?

The big thing that struck me, watching the game back on TV last night, was actually what a high-quality contest in was from both sides in very difficult conditions. The weather never looks so bad on TV, but remembering how bad it really was, it was a credit to both teams.

English? McGuire, Gale, Brown, Sinfield... Chase

McGuire and Chase - quite possibly.

Never really rated Brown and I certainly don't rate a journeyman like Gale. He's gotta be one of the most overrated players since Danny Brough.

One good season (arguably not a good as Sneyd was 12 months earlier) doesn't shoot him into an England spot imo.

I think when you look at guys like Kev Brown, Rangi Chase and Luke Gale they're all more eye catching then Matty Smith because they all have more of a running game and they all play off the cuff rugby. At international level though there isn't enough space for people like Chase to be trying his flicks and tricks and a well structured half like Smith seems more suitable.

We need to get a pairing together now and stick with it because chopping and changing won't work.