Daniel Smith

Daniel Smith (born 20 March 1993) is a professional rugby league footballer who last played as a and for Bradford Bulls in the RFL Championship.

Smith is a Leeds Rhinos academy graduate. He previously played for Wakefield Trinity Wildcats, Huddersfield Giants and Castleford Tigers in the Super League, and South Sydney Rabbitohs in the NRL. He has spent time at Oldham, Featherstone Rovers and Halifax Panthers on dual registration from Leeds, Wakefield and Castleford respectively. He has also spent time at Oldham on loan from Huddersfield, and at Featherstone on loan from both Huddersfield and Castleford.

Background Smith was born in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England. He is the brother of fellow rugby league footballer Cameron Smith. He attended Castleford High School.

Smith played at junior level for amateur side Castleford Lock Lane. In 2009, at the age of 15, he joined the academy at the Leeds Rhinos.

Career Leeds Rhinos Smith was promoted to the senior Leeds squad prior to the 2012 season, and was allocated squad number 30. However, he did not make any first-team appearances for the Rhinos.

Oldham (dual registration) In June 2012, Smith joined Championship 1 side Oldham on dual registration. At the end of his time down under, he recalled "Australia was the best experience of my life. It’s changed me massively on and off the field."

Wakefield Trinity Wildcats Smith returned to England at the end of the year, signing a two-year contract with the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats in October 2013.

In 2014, he regularly appeared for Wakefield as a , and he scored 3 tries in 20 appearances.

In 2015, he made a further 19 appearances and scored 4 tries, before leaving for Huddersfield in July as part of a deal that saw Anthony Mullally move the other way.

Featherstone Rovers (dual registration) In 2014, Smith played one game for Featherstone Rovers on dual registration, scoring a try in his only appearance.

Huddersfield Giants In July 2015, Smith was signed by Huddersfield Giants on a four-and-a-half-year deal.

On 27 March 2019, Huddersfield announced that, as of 1 April, Smith would be released from the final year of his contract due to "him not featuring in [head coach] Simon [Woolford]'s plans". Across his time with Huddersfield, Smith made 50 appearances and scored 5 tries. In his second stint at the club, he made 5 appearances and scored 2 tries. He was assigned squad number 34. Castleford Director of Rugby Jon Wells said, "Daniel has been a target of ours for some time now and we are fortunate that the opportunity has arisen to bring him to the club earlier than we anticipated."

Smith returned to the John Smith's Stadium on his first Tigers appearance, making his Castleford début against his previous club Huddersfield on 11 April 2019. He went on to appear 19 times for Castleford in 2019, scoring 1 try. In December 2020, Smith agreed a contract extension for the 2021 season.

In May 2021, Smith signed a new deal with Castleford to stay with the club for a further two years. On 17 July 2021, he played for Castleford in their 2021 Challenge Cup Final loss against St. Helens. Throughout the 2021 season, Smith made 18 appearances and scored 3 tries. He was predominantly utilised as a but also covered and .

In May 2023, it was announced that Smith would depart Castleford with immediate effect after his loan move to Featherstone Rovers was made permanent. During his time with the Tigers, he made a total 75 appearances and scored 5 tries.

Halifax Panthers (dual registration) In February 2023, Dan Smith played one game for Halifax Panthers on dual registration from Castleford.

Featherstone Rovers (loan) Smith returned to Featherstone on a two-week loan from Castleford in May 2023, marking his third spell with the Rovers. He featured at in wins over Sheffield and Widnes.

Featherstone Rovers Following an initial loan period, Smith joined Featherstone Rovers on a permanent deal in May 2023.

Bradford Bulls On 31 October 2023 it was reported that he would join Bradford for the 2024 season on a two-year deal.

On 26 Nov 2024 it was reported that he had left Bradford Bulls by mutual consent due to external work commitments.