Melbourne Storm fans can breathe a sigh of relief as the club announced on Friday that head coach Craig Bellamy is “not going anywhere.”
Bellamy has opted to remain Melbourne’s coach for a 23rd year in 2025, opting not to move to a different position within the NRL club or retire.
At 64, he agreed to a five-year contract with the Storm in 2022, giving him the annual option to continue coaching or take on the manager’s role.
Currently, with Melbourne second in the NRL standings, he confirmed his decision to continue as head coach next year on Friday.
“I have always maintained that I will only continue training if the coaches, players and club believe I still have something to offer,” Bellamy told melbournestorm.com.au.
Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy will continue his NRL career and take charge of the club for a 23rd season in 2025.
Bellamy (right) lifts the 2017 NRL premiership trophy with then captain Cameron Smith
‘As I said last season, my focus now is helping people learn and grow. “If we can help the players and coaches get better, the team will get better,” Bellamy said.
“We have a really established roster now and I have seen this group of players grow on and off the field over the last few seasons. They have already shown great improvement in the early rounds of this season, but they have a lot more to go and I am excited with how that will be.
“In making this decision, I also wanted to ensure that it would not hold back any of our coaches, who equally make this club a great place to work.
“Our coaching group is very established now and, in my opinion, all of them could step up at any time and coach at NRL level today.”
Bellamy is one of the best coaches of the NRL era and has a 70 per cent winning record during his long tenure at the club.
Bellamy and the 2008 Melbourne Storm players banded together to face the media after the club received record sanctions for breaching the salary cap.
Bellamy has the option to take over as technical director when he decides to step down as head coach of the club.
Bellamy took over as senior coach with the Storm in 2003, leading the team to a semi-final in his first year.
Since then, the Storm have played 20 finals series, winning the grand final five times and minor premiership seven times.
Since debuting as head coach in 2003, Bellamy has become one of the most successful coaches of the NRL era.
He has led the team in 555 games, winning 387 with an impressive 70% win rate while also achieving three first-place finishes (2012, 2017 and 2020) and five minor first-place finishes (2011, 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2021) .
Bellamy has always found a way to replace champion players with new champion players, such as Cameron Munster (pictured during the Anzac Round)
Bellamy has three official NRL premierships and five minor premierships in a glittering career.
Bellamy has created a legacy of success at the Storm that has endured throughout his 22 years at the club.
Beyond Melbourne’s achievements on the field, coach Bellamy has also mitigated the darkest days at the club when they were stripped of their 2007 and 2009 premierships and 2006, 2007 and minor premierships. 2008 for breach of the salary cap.
He has also demonstrated his astuteness as a manager by managing the departures of high-profile players such as Greg Inglis, Cameron Smith, Cooper Cronk, Billy Slater and the Bromwich brothers, who have moved to other clubs or retired over the last decade, without a drop. on team performance.
He has cultivated a new generation of talent, including Harry Grant, Cameron Munster, Ryan Papenhuyzen and Jahrome Hughes, propelling the team to second place in the standings after 10 rounds this season.
Bellamy’s announcement is a significant boost for the Storm as they prepare to face the Sharks in a critical first-place game on Saturday night.
