The presence of electric youngster Sua Faalgo at fullback for Melbourne Storm on Saturday is a timely reminder of just how much super coach Craig Bellamy has been able to continually regenerate his team over 22 seasons in charge.
It’s the emergence of talent like Faalgo, inserted in to a team which already boats one of the best spines in the NRL and Storm second on the ladder, with seven wins from one game, which made it almost a no-brainer for Bellamy to decide to go around again in 2025.
Bellamy, 64, signed a five-year deal in 2022 which allows him to decide each year whether he will continue in the head coach role for or transition into a coaching director, or as he said on Friday, a “part-time” role.
Amid urgings from senior players, including superstar playmaker Cameron Munster, who stayed loyal to Melbourne amid a multimillion-dollar from the Dolphins, Bellamy chose to keep coaching, his pursuit of, firstly, an astonishing 21st finals appearance, and the possibly a ninth grand final appearance, not front of mind, but the clear carrot for his era in charge to continue in to a 23rd season.
“He (Munster) did actually come about two weeks ago, so that was his usual visit,” Bellamy said after revealing his plans.
“But yeah, a couple of other senior players spoke to me as well, and yeah, I wanted to make sure that they were happy for me to stay on as well.
“Sometimes you can probably wear a bit thin and obviously I’m getting to the old age bracket too so some of the things these days that happen are a little bit modern for me. I’ve still got a bit old-school in me.
“But yeah but like they come in and encourage me to go on so that was obviously a real big part of making the decision that I’ve made.”
His decision came ahead of a monster clash with NRL ladder-leaders Cronulla at AAMI Park on Saturday night.
The timing of the announcement no coincidence, his team needing a little bit of a lift with two members of his star-studded spine, halfback Jahrome Hughes and regular custodian Ryan Papenhuyzen out injured.
Bellamy did, whoever, suggest the current ladder position of his team “wasn’t an overly important part of the decision.”
Instead it was the enjoyment he’s still getting from the people around him, players, football staff, even the club administration.
Storm has continued to surge off-field during his reign, but also regenerate on it, rebuilding that spine of Munster, Hughes, who this week said he wanted to remain at Melbourne amid speculation of a possible move to the Gold Coast Titans, Papenhuyzen and new captain Harry Grant.
Just last week, before he played his 200th game for Melbourne, superstar Storm playmaker Munster said Bellamy’s ongoing presence was one of the main reasons he knocked back a monster offer from the Dolphins to remain at the club.
“Everyone laughs about me being his son, and having that love-hate relationship that we have going on, but I knew deep down that I didn’t want to be coached by anyone else,” he said.
“And, it’s funny enough, I’m still trying to get him to stay longer as he’s getting longer in the tooth, but for me, I’m just very grateful for the owners, and obviously Craig guided me into the person I am.”
Storm brought former Bellamy assistant Jason Ryles back to the club in 2024, which was speculated as a succession plan. But he’ll have to bide his time after Friday’s decision.
Bellamy is one of only four coaches in premiership history to reach the 500-game mark and heads the list for most consecutive games with one club.
He took Storm to the finals in his first year in charge, and 19 more finals series since, winning five grand finals and seven minor premierships.
Bellamy has the best win-loss record of any current coach in the NRL, has been awarded the Dally M Coach of the Year on six occasions and the Rugby League International Federation Coach of the Year twice.
Storm Chairman, Matt Tripp, has not hidden his desire for Bellamy to remain at the club, either as coach or in some capacity, for as long as he wants and was effusive in his praise for the veteran mentor’s capacity grow and evolve with the game.
“Craig is coaching as well as he ever has and is not showing any signs of slowing down,” Tripp said.
“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.
“His approach to this season has shown he has plenty left to offer and we are extremely happy he will be leading this team again in 2025.”