[4] Tony played his junior rugby league for the Casino RSM Cougars and was part of their U18 Premiership winning side in 1984.

[5] He also notoriously lived above a Workington fish 'n' chip shop with his wife, commenting "every morning I trudged to training and swore we'd never come back to this country.

[citation needed] After returning home to Australia after finishing his playing career with Workington, Smith turned to coaching and applied for the job of Super League club Huddersfield Giants in September 2001.

He guided the Leeds Rhinos to their 2004 Super League Grand Final victory against the Bradford Bulls, their first Championship in 32 years, and went on to beat the Canterbury Bulldogs in the 2005 World Club Challenge at Elland Road.

Smith was however named Super League coach of the year for 2005 and signed a contract extension to the end of the 2006 season.

The Leeds Rhinos failed to win a trophy in the 2006 season, suffering defeat at the Semi-Final stage of the Challenge Cup and losing out to the Warrington Wolves in 2006's Super League XI Play-Offs.

Leeds Rhinos players contributed hugely to these victories including captain Jamie Peacock, half-backs Rob Burrow and Danny McGuire, 2nd Row Gareth Ellis and centre Keith Senior.

In Smith's first full season as head coach in 2020, Hull KR finished bottom of the Super League but were spared from relegation due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the expulsion of Toronto.

In the 2021 Super League season, Smith guided Hull KR to sixth on the table as they qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2013.

After upsetting Warrington 19–0 in the first week of the playoffs, Hull KR travelled to France for the semi-final against Catalans Dragons.

[22][23][24] On 4 July 2022, Smith was terminated as head coach of Hull Kingston Rovers after the club had only won a single match since St. George's Day of the 2022 season with the side were sitting 10th on the table.

Smith had announced in April that he was leaving the club at the end of the campaign which resulted in a massive drop in form.

had started the 2024 Super League season poorly losing six of their first seven matches with their only victory coming in a last gasp effort against the London Broncos.