Storm coach Craig Bellamy furious over timing of Brodie Croft’s secret Brisbane meeting
While Craig Bellamy refused to be drawn into Brodie Croft contract talk, the Storm coach made no attempt to hide his frustration over the timing of the playmaker’s meeting with Anthony Seibold this week.
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Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy would not be drawn on whether he’d allow contracted halfback Brodie Croft move to another club.
Croft, 22, who has two seasons to run on his current deal, was busted meeting Brisbane Broncos coach Anthony Seibold at a cafe in Sydney this week.
“That’s a decision that will be made down the track. I don’t know,” Bellamy said.
“If he wants to travel further down that line, we’ll sit down and talk about it.
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“We want to wait until the season (ends) before we do that, we got a few other things on our plate at the moment.”
While not in favour of the timing, in preliminary final week, Bellamy understands Croft’s predicament.
Croft was dropped after playing the first 22 games of the season when Bellamy shuffled the Storm spine to make room for standout Ryan Papenhuyzen.
The decision resulted in fullback Jahrome Hughes replacing Croft at halfback.
“I think ideally you’d prefer it not to happen, but that's the way the game is these days,” Bellamy said.
“Perhaps a meeting in Melbourne would’ve been more appropriate, nobody would’ve know who they are down there.
“I’m not quite sure if they were looking for the attention they ended up getting but they got it.”
The Storm is expected to be unchanged for Saturday’s grand final replay against the Roosters.
Bellamy questioned the “big game” hype around the hotly-anticipated finals fixture.
“I don’t know where all these big games have come from,” Bellamy said.
“I can’t remember the last time we played the Roosters in a final (prior to last year’s decider), actually I think we might’ve played them in 2013 or 14.”
The Storm hopes to starve Roosters X-factor Latrell Mitchell, among others, of possession in Saturday’s SCG showdown with a strong and committed defensive effort.
“Latrell is such a dangerous player and certainly gets good service from the two halves and the fullback as well,” Bellamy said.
“We’ve worked really hard this week defensively in that area, we'll see how it shapes up tomorrow night.”
Originally published as Storm coach Craig Bellamy furious over timing of Brodie Croft’s secret Brisbane meeting