Sydney Roosters utility Mitchell Aubusson has credited former coach Brian Smith with laying the foundations for the club's push for a second successive NRL premiership.
Smith exited at the end of a difficult 2012 season after giving debuts to Daniel Tupou, Boyd Cordner, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Aidan Guerra - who all played in last year's grand final win over Manly - and brought premiership-winning coach Trent Robinson to the club as his assistant in 2010.
After taking the Roosters to the big dance in his first season, two disappointing years followed and he was axed with Robinson put in charge.
He also didn't see eye-to-eye with senior players such as Mitchell Pearce and the now departed Nate Myles and Todd Carney, which accelerated his departure.
But Aubusson said the role Smith played in blooding so many youngsters in the NRL and improving the development of the others shouldn't be underplayed.
"I had no problems with Smithy at all," Aubusson told AAP.
"He is was one of the smartest coaches I've ever had and it was good to learn off him.
"He helped my game out massively. He's such an intelligent guy who knows so much about the game.
"He is a guy who's coached so many first grade games and seen so much footy.
"There are a core of us that were here for a while under Smithy and learned a lot from him. He also brought Robbo (Robinson) in and he has taken us even further forward."
It was early in Smith's reign that Aubusson first met Robinson before he departed for a two-year stint in France coaching Super League club Catalans.
And the 27-year-old said he knew immediately there was something special about the man who is aiming to become the first man to win back-to-back premierships in his first two seasons as an NRL coach.
"He was in charge of our defence under Smithy and I remember mid-season he called me up on his day off and wanted to do some video," he said.
"Instead of getting me to come in to the office he insisted we went out for coffee and met me in a cafe near my place.
"That's the kind of guy he is, he will take time out of his own day to try and improve you as a player.
"He's a very intelligent guy with a real dry sense of humour he knows when to have a laugh but when it's game day, the mask is on and it's very serious stuff."
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