NRL 2022: Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy talks scandal, salary caps and recruitment
Melbourne’s off-season involved white-powder scandals, an infamous interview and big names announcing their departure - Storm coach Craig Bellamy addresses all.
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It has been Melbourne’s most tumultuous off-season in some time.
After a record-equalling 19 consecutive wins during the regular season on the way to the minor premiership, the Storm produced its worst performance of the year in last year’s preliminary final.
In the wake of their finals exit, Melbourne’s off-season involved white powder scandals, an infamous podcast interview and a vaccination issue with one of its best forwards.
Speaking to NICK SMART, Storm coach Craig Bellamy addresses all before next month’s season opener.
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Q) Have you been able to properly process the preliminary final defeat? What do you think went wrong?
CB: We lost Christian (Welch) and then Brandon (Smith) early (to HIAs), which didn’t help. Our ball control and our completion was another problem. The Panthers controlled the ball really well and they defended really well, so you’re going to need to complete better than that to beat them, but at the end of the day we only got beaten by four points, which makes it a little bit more disappointing. We’re all disappointed with how we finished, but we need to move on with this season. We’ve had a few changes, so we’ll see what happens.
Q) There were so many things that went right last year, such as the 19-game record-equalling winning streak. Have you been able to balance those positives with the disappointment of how the season ended?
CB: Without a doubt. We were all a bit disappointed for a while. But to put everything into perspective, we won the minor premiership again after losing probably the best player to ever play the game (in Cameron Smith). He played for so long at such high quality and he was our captain as well. That 19-game winning run was obviously a big thing, and that was done in our second year of basically living out of a suitcase. In 2020 most of our families were up there, but last year a lot of our players and staff couldn’t have their families, so they were away from them for four-and-a-half months. Having said that, it’s hard to balance things up when you go out like we did, not playing our best footy.
Q) It’d been quite an eventful off-season for the club. How much did the Cameron Munster and Brandon Smith white powder incident affect you, and where are you now at with both those players?
CB: Well, it pissed me off at the start like everyone else, but I’m fine with it now. We’ve had our say privately and publicly, so we just move on from that now and I’m sure they’ve learned from that. Time will tell obviously, but with Munster, especially as we all know he went into rehab. And with all due respect, I think it’s done him a whole heap of good.
Q) It looks as if Munster’s come back hungry and focused, and he’s become a new father over the summer. Do you think we’ll see an improved year from him?
CB: I’ve just seen a change in him. He hasn’t changed 100 per cent, but I have seen a real positive change, so time will tell.
Q) Did it hurt to have Storm’s culture questioned during the off-season for the first time in a very long time?
CB: Not really, because at the end of the day, it should have been questioned. I had no problem with that.
Q) Where are you at with Brandon? Did you need to have some frank discussions with him after his podcast interview?
CB: I didn’t even listen to the podcast and I don’t know much about podcasts and social media and whatever. I don’t know what context it was in, but at the end of the day I had a bit of an issue with it. But again, we sorted that out and its full steam ahead.
Q) Among others, you’ll lose skipper Jesse Bromwich at the end of 2022 to the Dolphins. Do you want him to remain as captain this year, or are you tempted to bring on the new era given he is on the way out?
CB: That’ll be up to Jess. He is, with all due respect, our best option as captain. He got a taste of it last year and Jess is really focused on playing his role the best he can. We’re not going to take it off him because he’s leaving. What he’s done for our club, I mean this will be his 13th year and he’s played in five grand finals and won three. I know it comes up every now and then about players from clubs who have given such great service to their club that they end up leaving because of the financials. We’ve got no problem with Jess going, but you’d like to see him finish his career here because of what he’s done here. But because of the situation with the salary cap, we couldn’t come near the offer. You’d just like to see players like that be, not fully exempt from the salary cap, but some sort of percentage taken off. Most people would like to see players who’ve played 13 years for a club and won three premierships finish their career there, and especially if they wanted to finish their career there.
Q) The Bromwich brothers, Dale Finucane, Josh Addo-Carr, Nicho Hynes, Brandon Smith. Do you feel like you’ve been pillaged at all, or is that just the price of success?
We’ve certainly been pillaged without a doubt. I don’t know the reason and I’m not going to worry too much about the reason, because it’s done. We just need to move on.
Q) Who is exciting you this pre-season? Any players you’re particularly happy with how they’re looking?
CB: The two Bromwich boys have come back after Christmas in great shape, so I’m thinking we’re going to get good years out of them. Of the new guys, the two who have impressed the most just with their work ethic and their desire to get in and work hard has been Xavier Coates and Josh King. He (King) has come from Newcastle and obviously wants to be successful and he is willing to put in the hard work to be successful. Those two have worked really hard in the pre-season.
Q) The Storm have always been big on backing its development program and bringing players through rather than trying for big money signings. But will we see the club go to the market a bit more this year given the players that are leaving at the end of the year?
CB: We’re not going to the market this year, but next year it depends on how much money we’ve got and see what we think we need. We’ll probably be looking for a bit of experience obviously with the two Bromwich boys, (Felise) Kaufusi and Brandon gone, so that’s taking a fair bit of experience out of our forwards.
Q) The Nelson Asofa-Solomona vaccination issue must have been a difficult situation to navigate. Are you relieved to now have him back in the fold?
CB: Yeah, it’s taken more time than what anybody would have wanted but he’s obviously provided the information to the NRL and to the Victorian Government that needed providing. Now he is right to go.
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