Storm 46 Bulldogs 0

CAM SMITH is aghast at claims he has put himself on the open market.

The Storm captain says it's simply not true.

England-bound Michael Crocker is shattered that Test coach Ricky Stuart wants to ban him from the Australian side at the World Cup.

He says it's simply not fair.

The Storm hammered the Bulldogs. It was simply no contest.

Smith attracted headlines yesterday accusing him of harming the game because his manager, Jim Banaghan, was supposedly seeking offers from Australia and England-based clubs for Smith in 2010.

Banaghan was ropeable last night that Smith's name was being dragged through the mud, telling The Sun-Herald: "It's the biggest load of crap I've ever heard. We haven't put up the 'For Sale' sign.

"Cam hasn't spoken to anyone and he has no intention of speaking to anyone. It's just wrong, wrong, wrong."

The powerhouse Storm took on a Bulldogs team so depleted they were lucky coach Steve Folkes turned up. Kiwi internationals Sonny Bill Williams and Matt Utai, five-eighth Daniel Holdsworth, and props Jarrad Hickey and Chris Armit were just five of 11 first-graders unavailable for the trip to The Graveyard.

It threatened to get ugly, and it did. Folkes said the Dogs' spate of injuries was "just one of those things that happen in footy" and another thing that just happens in footy is this kind of eight-tries-to-nil bloodbath in a virtual training run for Smith and the Storm.

"I was pretty upset to see the comment about whether I damaged the game or not," Smith said. "The way the story came across is that I said whoever wants me, come and get me.

"That is not the case. I'm not that sort of bloke who will just play for whoever gives him the most. I'm contracted to the Storm this year and next year.

"That's where I am at the moment."

Storm centre Will Chambers was ruled out for the season after rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during the Storm's last training run before the game. He landed awkwardly after fielding a kick. His replacement, veteran Matt Geyer, scored twice.

Every set of six led to a mountainous gain in metres for the Storm. The Bulldogs could not register a point and can thank themselves lucky the NRL doesn't enforce nudie runs.

Smith was as influential as ever. If he really was for sale, potential buyers would be queuing up.