Craig Bellamy played down his influence on the Melbourne Storm and claimed he is yet to decide his plans for 2022 following Thursday’s 40-12 victory over the Brisbane Broncos.
Despite missing superstars Cameron Munster, Ryan Papenhuyzen and Harry Grant, the reigning premiers were far too strong for the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium.
Bellamy’s men are on a nine-game winning streak since they suffered back-to-back losses to Parramatta and Penrith early in the 2021 campaign.
The Storm moved into second place on the ladder with their latest victory and are genuine contenders to go back-to-back this season.
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Melbourne’s early success in their first season with legendary hooker Cameron Smith has led to speculation Bellamy will backflip on his previous plans to call time on his coaching career.
Bellamy’s future has been a hot topic for several months and the legendary coach was bombarded with questions about his next move at his post-match press conference.
Asked directly if he is staying at the Storm, either as coach or a coaching director next season, Bellamy replied: “I don’t know yet.”
Bellamy has options, including a lucrative offer to oversee Cronulla’s football operations as part of a dream team with incoming head coach Craig Fitzgibbon.
Pressed on whether he is tempted to stay in Melbourne for another 12 months to help shape the new-look Storm side, he replied: “I think the club and the team will be fine if I’m not there.
“I think we’ve got systems in place that it will continue to run along those lines.
“Obviously things change as you go along and you try and make things better or you need adapt to different conditions or different situations.
“But I’d be very confident, whether I’m there or not, that this club is going to go on fine.”
“A lot of our players now, ever since our ‘Big Three’ have retired, they’ve taken on a lot of responsibility as well and it’s probably been even a bit smoother than I thought it was going to be, to be quite honest.”
He added when asked if the team’s success without Smith and the rest of the Storm’s famed ‘Big Three’ of Smith, Billy Slater and Cooper Cronk has given him a second wind: “I don’t really see that as different to when the ‘Big Three’ were there to be quite honest.
“I’ve got a role to play, a job to do and I do the best I can.
“I’m very clear on what my role is and it doesn’t matter who we’ve got there I’m trying to do that job as best I can.
“And I think that’s what we probably do well in our organisation, everyone’s pretty clear on what their role is and we try and get people in there that are willing to put the time and the work in to get that job done the best they can.”
