Brandon Smith: Footy star breaks down as he reveals how his loved ones paid the price when he was caught up in white powder video scandal

Sydney Roosters hooker Brandon Smith has fought back tears while describing how his mum, niece and nephew paid the price when he was caught up in a white powder video scandal.

The New Zealand international was embroiled in the infamous incident with then-Storm teammates Cameron Munster and Chris Lewis after their side bowed out of the finals in 2021.

A leaked video showed them in a hotel room with a mystery white substance on a coffee table. Smith was seen sitting in front of the table with a rolled-up note and a card.

The players were all suspended for one game and hit with fines as a result.

Smith recently opened up about that tumultuous period in his life while appearing on The Keegan and Company podcast. 

'It sucked, bro, it sucked,' said Smith, who revealed he first got word of the news breaking when he was attending the Dally M Awards ceremony.

'But not for me. It sucked for my mum - I wanted her to enjoy her night and then bro what really hit home was that my niece and my nephew were getting bullied at school because of something I did.

'You know I f**king did that and hearing it from my brother and just seeing that s**t bro was definitely something that hurt my heart.

'You being an idiot caused so much grief to your family and your loved ones ... like letting them down is the ultimate fear for me, and when it effects the people around you , that's when it really hits home.'

Smith also found himself in hot water at the Storm for saying the team had a strong drinking culture. 

'At the Storm, drinking is a massive part of the culture,' he said on the YKTR podcast.

'As a football player, I want to be remembered as the c*** who went out there and had a go. [Past players say] F**k I love watching you play, you go f**king hard.

'At the Storm, bro, drinking is a massive part of the culture.

'We had beer pong competition at my house and Scott Drinkwater, we were playing beer pong, Dale (Finucane) was blind, and Scott kept pouring vodka into his beer cups and he drank a bottle of vodka in 32 minutes, like a whole bottle and he was so p***ed.

'He doesn't realise how strong he is, he grabs you and just manhandles you around and 20 minutes later he's got his shoe and he's spewing into his shoe.'

Smith apologised for the comments, and was slapped down by coach Craig Bellamy and Melbourne football manager Frank Ponissi.

'The drinking thing … we've been in the top four seven years straight, and that doesn't happen if you're a team of drunks,' Bellamy said.

In round two of the 2022 season,  Smith was accused of mocking Souths star Latrell Mitchell by impersonating his field goal celebration after the Storm's golden-point win, despite not playing in the game due to injury.

Later that season he was investigated by the NRL for allegedly using a sexual slang term when he interrupted teammate Xavier Coates during an interview on Anzac Day.