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Craig Bellamy's legacy more than the 'Big Four'

Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy has produced some of the NRL's best players. AAP Image/Dean Lewins
Expert
20th May, 2014
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Last Friday night at ANZ Stadium the Melbourne Storm’s greatest four players ran out together for a staggering 1000th time.

Cameron Smith, Billy Slater, Cooper Cronk and Ryan Hoffman have been there through the good times and the bad.

The quartet has taken the headlines away from their coach and that’s just the way he likes it.

Coach Craig Bellamy also reached a milestone on the weekend when he coached Melbourne for the 300th time, and while Bellamy is happy to steer away from the limelight, his achievement cannot go without mention.

Yes, he has had the best three-player combination in the game for a decade, but there is more to this story than a few superstars.

Over the next couple of decades that quartet will do countless interviews and functions speaking of their time under Bellamy. How it was a golden era and what a thrill it was to play alongside each other and be mentored by the ruthless tactician.

As those years roll on though there will be others who have drifted from our memories. Bellamy should be remembered as the coach who not only moulded careers but saved them. Props, hookers and backrowers who owe everything to the man who gave them an opportunity.

That’s all he offers.

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While other coaches have preferred to throw money at the best forwards in the game, Bellamy has made it his mission to find the rough diamonds no other coach would dare look for. The players know exactly where they stand. They know what the yardstick is and the challenge is set.

His record speaks for itself. The forwards who buy into what Bellamy is selling become better players.

Men like Ben Cross, Brett White and Jeff Lima, who were props on the cusp but never quite there. Under Bellamy all three became representatives and cornerstones of the Storm engine room.

Look at Ryan Hinchcliffe.

A back-up hooker at the Canberra Raiders, Hinchliffe accepted an offer to join the Storm and has been there ever since. Not as a hooker of course, but with the help of Bellamy he has transformed himself into a fearless lock.

If they haven’t become representative players, they’ve won premierships or have become legitimate first graders at other clubs. Bellamy will forever be synonymous with Melbourne’s big four but don’t underestimate what he has done for countless other careers.

Friday night was yet another example of Bellamy’s men lurching from the depths of anonymity to conquer the highly-fancied South Sydney Rabbitohs. It is hard to forget the feats of the big three on Friday, they were sublime. But the foundations of the slashing win were only possible because of the work done upfront.

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And when the next generation of Ben Hampton and Kurt Mann are stealing all the headlines?

There will be a new breed of forwards ripping and tearing, grateful for the work Bellamy has done. Guys like Mitch Garbutt, who was plucked from Newcastle A-Grade, Tim Glasby from the Queensland Cup and Jordan McLean.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a veteran forward with a point to prove or a talented junior needing that one big push, Melbourne’s Bellamy is the man to see.

It may not be the easy option, but fortune favours the brave.

Forwards under Bellamy:
Nathan Friend (Broncos – Bellamy – Titans/Warriors)
Ryan Hoffman (Bellamy – NSW/Australia)
Antonio Kaufusi (Bundaberg – Bellamy – Queensland/Australia)
David Kidwell (Journeyman – Bellamy – Souths – NRL Assistant coach)
Kirk Reynoldson (Bellamy – Knights/Dragons)
Peter Robinson (Country – Bellamy)
Mitchell Sargent (Bellamy – Cowboys/Knights)
Cameron Smith (Bellamy – Queensland/Australian captain)
Ryan Hoffman (Bellamy – NSW/Australia)
Glen Turner (Christchurch – Bellamy)
Alex Chan (Eagles/Eels – Bellamy – New Zealand)
Dallas Johnson (Bellamy – Queensland)
Jeremy Smith (Eagles/QueenslandCup – Bellamy – New Zealand)
Brett White (Dragons – Bellamy – NSW)
Adam Blair (Bellamy – New Zealand)
Ben Cross (Raiders – Bellamy – NSW)
Scott Anderson (Bellamy – Premiership winner)
Jeff Lima (Tigers – Bellamy – New Zealand)
Sika Manu (Bellamy – New Zealand/Tonga)
Sam Tagataese (Wellington -Bellamy – Titans/Sharks)
Kevin Proctor (Bellamy – New Zealand)
Aiden Tolman (Bellamy – Bulldogs/Country Origin)
Ryan Hinchcliffe (Raiders – Bellamy – Country Origin)
Jesse Bromwich (Bellamy – New Zealand)
Bryan Norrie (Journeyman – Bellamy – Premiership winner)
Robbie Rochow (Bellamy – Knights)
Jaiman Lowe (Journeyman – Bellamy)
Adam Woolnough (Retirement – Bellamy)
Richie Fa’aoso (Journeyman – Bellamy – Premiership winner)
Rory Kostjasyn (Newtown – Bellamy – Cowboys/Ireland)
Kenny Bromwich (Bellamy – New Zealand selection)
Junior Moors (Penrith/Tigers – Bellamy – Samoa)
Slade Griffin (Cobden-Kohinoor New Zealand – Bellamy)
Tohu Harris (Tamatea Rugby New Zealand – Bellamy – New Zealand)
Dayne Weston (Journeyman – Bellamy)
Mitch Garbutt (Newcastle A-Grade – Bellamy)
Tim Glasby (QueenslandCup – Bellamy)
Jordan McLean (Country – Bellamy)

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