Coach Craig Bellamy has signed a five-year deal that will keep him at Melbourne until the end of the 2026 NRL season.
Craig Bellamy admits he was tempted by offers from Brisbane and Cronulla but the thought of leaving Melbourne without a head NRL coach for next season was a major reason behind his long-term extension.
The three-time premiership-winning coach will extend his reign to at least a 20th season with the Storm after signing a five-year deal to stay at the club.
After a drawn-out negotiation process and speculation he would finish his head coaching career this year, Bellamy has knocked back big-money offers from the Broncos and the Sharks to stay in charge of the Storm.
Both the Broncos and the Sharks had offered him part-time coaching director roles worth big bucks, but on Tuesday Bellamy said he still has the passion to coach into 2022.
The flexibility of his five-year extension leaves the door open for Bellamy to continue his coaching career beyond next season, although he will eventually transition into a director of football role.
He will make that decision at the end of each year and will likely have a hand in selecting his eventual replacement.
It took 12 months of negotiations to reach a decision due to multiple personal and professional factors, but the 61-year-old settled on his future over the weekend.
“(Offers from Brisbane and Cronulla) were attractive with the conditions of the contract, with the money side of it, and both of those were part-time,” he said on Tuesday.
“There wasn’t that head coaching role, but that didn’t make a difference to me, to be quite honest.
“In the end, when I decided to stay with Melbourne and go on as a head coach is because it’s so late in the year and it would have been hard for the Storm.
“I know I’ve still got the passion and the drive to coach.
“The other two clubs were great, I was really impressed with both.
“They were very, very patient, but there were quality people involved as well.
“I would have been really content if I had have moved to one of those clubs.”
Bellamy eventually wants to slow down and spend more time with family and has considered whether to retire from coaching at the end of the past few NRL seasons.
A clause in his new contract means he can do that on his own terms.
As for how long he can continue the rigours of an NRL season as a head coach, he’s unsure, but knows retirement is coming.
“I don’t know, to be quite honest. There’s been times when I think this is just around the corner,” he said.
“Sometimes it can wear you down, but it’s like any other job.
“People talk about coaches and how tough the job is. It’s stressful at times but it can be very rewarding.
“I’m getting a little bit older now and I’ve got grandkids and one of the main things is I’d like to spend a little bit more time with them.”
His re-signing comes as a huge boost for the Storm as they prepare for a top-of-the-table clash with Penrith.
Bellamy’s influence has never been clearer than this season after the retirement of Cameron Smith at the start of the year – yet they’re still seemingly untouchable.
They head into Saturday’s game riding a club-record-equalling 15-game winning streak and hold the record for most points scored across the first 17 rounds of an NRL season.
bbt
Roar Rookie
One of Bellamy's main motivators is leaving Storm, an embedded fixture on the Victorian sporting scene. Right or wrong, he thinks that a faltering team, e.g. the current Broncos, would see the Storm, really struggle for relevance in the crowded Melbourne sporting market. He will probably ease off on the day-to-day stuff and become more of an overseer of coaching.
Hard Yards
Roar Rookie
Congratulation to Bellyache for closing what I'm sure is a tidy twilight to his outstanding career with the Storm. And Storm have been astute to retain him. There's a saying we are all familiar with, 'If it 'aint broke, don't try to fix it.' And the Storm 'aint broken. Good news for the players; for those in development; for the Club , and for the Storm fans.
andyfnq
Roar Rookie
Wowee that is awesome news for all Melbourne supporters!
Dionysus
Guest
Right with you Joe. It is very pleasing to see Craig commit to the Storm as I am not certain he would ever really settle at another club and you are right, there can be no denying his coaching abilities now. The term and nature of his 5 yr tenure are interesting and implies that he will oversee the transition to his replacement at some point in the future. Could that even be his son perhaps ? Whatever, it is clear that Craig will not leave the club in the lurch. Good on you Mr. Bellamy, sir.
Joe
Roar Rookie
As a Storm supporter I’m very happy to see Craig Bellamy remain at the club, coaching next year and at any capacity the years after. His influence now on the Storm team cannot be denied. As each of the Big 3 (4 including Inglis) left the Storm were expected to falter. Cam Smith was the biggest test and we have seen teams that lose influential players fall apart, think Johns, Lockyer, Fittler as they left their clubs. Its obvious now that Craig has been one of it not the most important factor at the Storm. He has had players come and go and the team remains consistently good. Today I was watching JACs 100 try video on Youtube and what struck me is all the changes to the players inside him in his 5 seasons at the Storm but the result was still the same. 2nd rower – Harris/Bromich, Center-Chambers/Blair/Olam – Fullback – Slater/Hughes/Paps/Hynes. Each player bringing different skills but the end result still the same…a try to JAC. That is a snapshot of what Craig Bellamy does at the Storm.