Storm lock away Bellamy until 2026 and turn attention to off-contract stars
With Storm supercoach Craig Bellamy retained until at least the 2026 NRL season, Melbourne will switch their focus to re-signing Ryan Papenhuyzen and pushing for a return home before the finals.
The Storm confirmed the gameâs worst-kept secret on Tuesday by announcing Bellamy would remain head coach in 2022, and slamming shut the door of a move to a NSW or Queensland club, that he would stay with the club for the following four seasons as well.
Bellamy, 61, will have the option of remaining in the top job or moving into a director of coaching role, and will make a call by next March if he plans to coach on in 2023.
Five more years ... Craig Bellamy will remain with the Storm until at least 2026.Credit:Getty
Club chairman Matt Tripp wanted the long-term commitment and was naturally delighted the gameâs best coach will remain with the most successful club in the modern era.
Tripp now hopes with Bellamy staying put, it will fast-track some player signings, including Papenhuyzen. The fullback is off contract at the end of 2022 and is free to talk with rivals from November.
Papenhuyzen returned from a serious concussion last Friday and Tripp said the fullbackâs slow recovery from the Magic Round knockout would not hurt his market price.
âNaturally a lot of people wanted certainty about who was going to be our head coach next year and beyond, especially if players were signing deals that took them into next year and beyond,â Tripp said.
Ryan Papenhuyzen will become the Stormâs next re-signing target.Credit:Getty Images
âIâd like to think we can now work towards bedding them down.
âIâll turn my attention to Ryan, Iâm committed to Ryan and have been right throughout the course of this year. Iâve been in close dialogue with [agent] Clinton Schifcofske]. Iâm hoping we get a positive outcome with Ryan sooner rather than later.
âI havenât wavered one bit in terms of our commitment to Ryan, and it would be unfair and unreasonable to call out the head knock that slows us down. We want to keep going and show our level of commitment to him.â
Melbourne are keen to extend Papenhuyzen until at least the end of 2025, while Brandon Smith and Jesse Bromwich, both off contract at the end of next year, also key signing targets. Smith is expected to test the open market at seasonâs end.
The Storm are on top of the table and can pull further in front with a win over the second-placed but depleted Panthers on Saturday night, and Tripp hopes to know as soon as this time next week if they can host finals games in front of fans at AAMI Park.
It would be a huge boost for the Storm and their hopes of making it successive titles given the Sydney clubs are no chance of returning home to host their own finals.
âWeâd like to think in the next week or two weâll have some clarity, there are a lot of moving parts to it,â Tripp said.
âIt would be fantastic. Even though we have a good record in Queensland, I still think as a board and management team we need to be pushing hard to make sure our supporters get bang for their buck and get to come along to see us play.â
As for extending Bellamy, and holding off the big-money interest from Brisbane and Cronulla, Tripp said: âItâs a five-year coaching deal, and Craig will be head coach until he tells me he will morph into this new director of coaching role.
âThat role has not been defined yet, but he will always give me 12 months notice.
âJust before round one every year, Craig will say to me what his plan is for head coaching the following year. So in March next year, he will tell me what his plans are for 2023 and whether he remains the head coach.
âHeâs certainly coaching next year.
âI wanted a long-term commitment. I didnât want to go through this again in a year or two years time. To future-proof the club, and the little things he does with recruitment and retention - the one-percenters that help make the Storm what we are - heâs instrumental with all that, and I wanted to make sure we had him committed for the long term.
âHeâs the backbone of the club and heâs the face of the club.
âMelbourne is a fickle town with sporting teams because thereâs so much choice. Weâre in AFL heartland. But if you follow the Storm, you know what youâll get week in week out, and thatâs because of Craig Bellamy.
âThereâs not another club in the land in any code whose supporter base could say that. They get 100 per cent effort and consistency with the Storm because Craig has them trained to the minute.
âIâm really pleased it will roll on for the next five years.â
Christian Nicolussi covers rugby league for The Sydney Morning Herald.
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