Another year: Bellamy farewell tour to stretch into 2025 campaign

Craig Bellamy will again be leading the Melbourne Storm for at least another campaign, with the 64-year-old NRL supercoach choosing to stay in the big purple seat for a 23rd straight season.

Melbourne’s head coach is midway through a five-year deal that lets him choose to stay in his leading role for the next season or pivot into a director role. He first signed the deal in 2022 and has now chosen to lead on in 2023, ’24, and ’25.

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While the NRL world was holding its breath over his decision, Bellamy’s choice is not outrageously surprising—many in Storm circles have been awaiting the official news for some weeks, The Sporting Base understands.

The fact Melbourne is running second (and could go first if they beat Cronulla this weekend) is another reason the 2025 decision is only a small surprise; Bellamy has the chance to play his 21st finals series and has said that while the fire sometimes flickers throughout any given year, things still burn bright for him.

“Sometimes it [the fire] probably isn’t burning that much, but you go through different stages during the year, but also year to year,” Bellamy said.

“But the main reason I am staying on is the people in the club right from the top through to the players and coaching staff. There is a whole heap of really good people here. They are good at what they do, but right from Matt Tripp [Melbourne’s chairman], they are all really good, decent people and they really care about what our club is about.

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“I can say the same about our players and staff… that’s what encouraged me to stay on.”