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Craig Bellamy is to go around again with the Melbourne Storm after announcing he will take up the option in his contract until the end of 2025.
It will take him to his 23rd year with the club and, by the end, close to his 600th game coaching in the NRL.
Bellamy has a rolling contract with the Storm that allows him to decide on a yearly basis whether he wants to continue in the job, with an option to transition upstairs at a time of his choosing.
Despite the fact he will turn 65 the week of the 2024 Grand Final, there had been little inclination that he would retire at the end of the year.
In previous seasons there had been speculation, but with Melbourne looking dead certs for the top four and a major contender for the Premiership, it seems an easy call to stay on.
Speaking before training on Friday morning, the coach told AAP: “The main reason that I’m staying on is the people in the club at the moment, right from the top through to the players, coaching staff, we’ve got a whole heap of really good people here.
“I’m happy to still be here and really enjoying it … I’m enjoying working with the players and I think we’ve got a pretty talented group this year.”
He also revealed the effect that senior players had in his decision.
“(Cameron Munster) came about two weeks ago, that was his usual visit, and a couple of the other senior players spoke to me as well,” said the coach.
“I wanted to make sure they were happy for me to stay on as well, as sometimes you wear a bit thin and obviously I’m getting to the older age bracket too and some things these days that happen are a little bit modern for me, but they came in and encouraged me to go on, so that was a big part of making the decision I’ve made.”
“I sort of think, ‘what am I going to do if I’m not doing this?’, and it’s just a really enjoyable place to be at the moment.
“We’ve brought some young guys in who have done a really good job for us.”
The Storm higher-ups were delighted to have their coach continue.
“Craig is coaching as well as he ever has and is not showing any signs of slowing down,” said chairman Matt Tripp.
“He has a great support base with his assistant coaches and high-performance staff which gives Craig the chance to focus on what he has done extremely well for 22 seasons at Storm.
“In our opinion, Craig is the best coach to have ever coached in the NRL and we were prepared to give him as long as he needed to decide if 2024 was to be his last in charge.