Bellamy isn’t handing away Storm command just yet

Craig Bellamy has confirmed he’ll stay on leading the Melbourne Storm for at least another campaign, with the 66-year-old NRL coaching champion activating a mutual clause in his ongoing club deal.

Bellamy will now lead the Storm for his 24th consecutive year and the fifth of his contemporary contract, where he gets to decide if he’ll kick on basically every 12 months or so.

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The 588-game coaching veteran has always maintained he will walk away from the top job in the Victorian capital whenever he believes he can no longer lead the club to glory — but with Melbourne fourth with an 8-4 record and still one of the premiership favourites, that time is clearly still a ways away for the NRL supercoach.

“I’ve always said that I will only keep coaching if the players, coaches and club believe that I still have something to offer,” Bellamy said.

“As mentioned last season, my focus remains on developing our players and helping them learn and grow together as a team. Our squad is in a stable position, and I’m looking forward to the improvement we can continue to make.

“I also want to ensure, by this decision, that I’m not holding back any of our coaches, who play a massive role in the improvement of this team. We have a great coaching group, who are very capable of stepping up and coaching at senior level.”

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While this extension is welcome news for Storm fans, it does little to change his next big milestone: Bellamy will hit his 600th NRL game in charge on Round 26, at home against the Roosters.