Source : ABC NEWS
— reporting by AAP
Craig Bellamy has confirmed he will coach on at the Melbourne Storm in 2027 in what is set to be his final hurrah to a glittering career at the NRL club.
And the legendary coach says while he would love Cameron Munster to see out his NRL career at the Storm, he gives the superstar five-eighth his blessing to finish elsewhere.
Bellamy’s future has been up in the air since he revealed in April he had been diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disorder.
Although contracted until the end of 2028, there were fears Bellamy might step aside at the end of this season so he could focus on family and his health.
But the 66-year-old, who led the Storm to five premierships, of which two were later stripped due to salary cap breaches, confirmed in Perth on Thursday that he was keen to coach on for a 25th season
“I’ll be coaching next year, but I think that might be the end,” Bellamy said ahead of Saturday’s clash with Manly in Perth.
“But anyway, we’ll see what happens.”
Melbourne (8-12) sit in 12th spot and, barring a mathematical miracle, will miss the finals for the first time since 2010.
They received a huge boost this week when Munster was given the green light to face Manly after recovering from knee surgery.
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The Queensland captain is contracted to the Storm until the end of 2027, but his future beyond that remains up in the air.
The 31-year-old says he will stay in Melbourne if Bellamy stays.
But with his mentor set to depart at the end of next year, it opens the door for Munster to explore his options elsewhere, with expansion club PNG one of the most enticing prospects given the tax-free salary on offer.
Bellamy would “love” Munster to stay at the Storm, but would also support his star player if he chose to leave.
“If he thought there was another club or another way that he’d like to finish his career, I’d back him up all the way,” Bellamy said.
“He’s been super invested in our club the whole time he’s been here, and whatever he wants to do in the last couple of years of his career, I’ll back it up.”
Munster wasn’t set to return until next week at the earliest, but he made a special effort to get back sooner to bolster the under-manned outfit.
Last week, Bellamy declared he was feeling “pissed off” after his team’s finals hopes all but evaporated in a 36-22 loss to the Bulldogs.
The frustration was still bubbling for Bellamy on Friday when he spoke about his team no longer being in the finals mix.
“It’s been tough, I won’t bullshit there,” Bellamy said before catching up with Perth Bears coach Mal Meninga during the Storm’s light training run.
“We’ve had a few injuries, but there’s a lot of other clubs that had that as well.
“At the end of the day, we’re just not where we would have liked to have been.”
Manly (9-10) are still in the finals hunt, but they need a strong showing in their last five games to secure a top-eight berth, and they will be without Kobe Hetherington (pectoral tear) for the rest of the season.
