Craig Bellamy has the Melbourne Storm primed for NRL premiership revenge this year before the club is targeted by expansion rivals
In what could be his final year in Melbourne, Craig Bellamy has the Storm primed for revenge after last year’s grand final loss. And it may be his last chance before the club is raided by cashed-up rivals.
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The Storm are preparing to launch a Last Dance style premiership assault before cashed-up NRL expansion teams raid Craig Bellamy’s stacked Melbourne squad.
Melbourne chairman Matt Tripp is hopeful a recharged Bellamy will extend his tenure in charge of the Storm after last year’s heartbreaking grand final loss to Penrith.
After clinching the minor premiership in 2024, the Storm looked set to end Penrith’s dynasty before suffering a 14-6 grand final defeat that delivered the Panthers a fourth straight title.
Bellamy and the Storm were shattered, believing it was a premiership that got away following an uncharacteristic performance on the big stage.
Bellamy, 65, is back for his 23rd season in charge of the Storm, but a rolling contract gives him the opportunity to transition into a director of coaching role at the end of the year.
However the pain of last year’s grand final defeat hasn’t dampened Bellamy and Tripp is hopeful the super coach will extend his tenure at the helm of Melbourne into 2026.
“I haven’t spoken to Craig yet about his future,” Tripp said.
“I caught up with him in Geelong (pre-season camp) and didn’t even bring it up. We’ll talk before the season kicks off.
“I think he is enjoying himself and liking it.
“(He seems more driven) than ever. He has dusted himself off pretty quickly.
“He was obviously disappointed, but the way he handled it after the game was measured and concise with the way he spoke to the players. There was no ranting or raving.
“‘We learn from it and we move on’ was the key message.
“There is a steely resolve among the leadership group and those senior players to make sure we get it right this year.”
After last year’s near miss and given their consistency year-to-year, the Storm will start the season as one of the premiership favourites.
They have a red-hot squad stacked with star spine players Jahrome Hughes, Cameron Munster, Ryan Papenhuyzen and Harry Grant along with backups Jonah Pezet and Sua Fa’alogo.
Suspended Test prop Nelson Asofa-Solomona was a huge loss for the grand final and Melbourne’s pack will be further boosted by the acquisition of NSW Origin representative Stefano Utoikamanu following his move from the Tigers.
Grant, Hughes and Papenhuyzen (option) are off-contract at the end of 2026 and expected to become prime targets of a Perth expansion team if it is approved for a 2027 entry to the NRL.
The likes of Xavier Coates, Will Warbrick, Shawn Blore and Nick Meaney are also off-contract at the end of next year.
The Storm were pilfered by the last expansion team the Dolphins in 2023, losing key forwards Jesse and Kenny Bromwich and Felise Kaufusi to Redcliffe.
The Dolphins also went within a whisker of poaching Munster.
Tripp said the Storm had some big recruitment decisions to make in the years to come amid salary cap pressure and the introduction of potentially two new clubs in Perth and the confirmed PNG franchise (2028).
“We’ve got the benefit of time to work through that this year and see who fits where,” he said.
“In a perfect world we’d like to keep them all. The reality in the salary cap era is that you simply can’t.
“We’ll have some decisions to make down the track but it’s certainly not now.
“We’re delighted with the squad and depth we’ve got in key areas.
“I hope if Jonah and Sua get some game time this year they continue to progress the way we think they will and become top-line first graders.”
The Storm recently held their annual pre-season camp in Geelong and by all reports Bellamy has them primed for a hot start to the 2025 season.
Motivation is high in Melbourne following the grand final loss and Tripp is hoping the Storm are premiership contenders again.
“The feedback I’ve had is that it was our best Geelong camp in the 10 years we’ve been going down there,” he said.
“They are as focused as I’ve seen them in my 11 years at the club.
“They are really switched on to rectify what happened last year where we thought we were consistent all year then let ourselves down on the big stage.
“If we can stay healthy we’ll give ourselves the best chance to rectify last year.
“There’s still so much work to be done so I don’t want to say anything outlandish that might bite us on the backside.
“We’re happy with our squad and if the guys can play as consistently as they did last year and make some tweaks to what didn’t go to plan in the grand final, I’d like to hope we’ll be there at the pointy end.”
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