Brisbane Broncos young gun Xavier Coates says Storm coach Craig Bellamy will make him a better player

Xavier Coates’ decision to sign with Melbourne Storm was a bombshell call. Now, he reveals why he’s walking out on the Brisbane Broncos.

Xavier Coates’ departure is a big loss for Brisbane. Picture: Brenton Edwards

Xavier Coates insists he hasn’t betrayed the Broncos and admits he will leave Brisbane with a heavy heart as he prepares to face his future club, the Storm, on Thursday night at Suncorp Stadium.

In his only interview on his decision to quit the Broncos, Coates opened up to The Courier-Mail on the key reasons for his decision to stun Brisbane by inking a two-year deal with the Storm from next season.

The Storm have signed Coates to replace Canterbury-bound Josh Addo-Carr and the Broncos rookie will get a close-up view of the daunting task ahead when he marks up against the flying ‘Foxx’ at Suncorp.

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Broncos coach Kevin Walters was supremely confident of retaining Coates but was left stunned when the Queensland Origin young gun pledged his future to premiers Melbourne a fortnight ago.

The Broncos have invested heavily in Coates, patiently developing the Gold Coast product since his teen years, but the 20-year-old says he will always cherish his tenure at Brisbane with a new chapter at Melbourne on the horizon.

Xavier Coates stunned the Broncos by announcing his signing with Melbourne Storm. Picture: Liam Kidston

“I will definitely leave with a heavy heart,” Coates said.

“The Broncos gave me my debut and they developed me through the system, but ultimately I had to make a choice and I’m just glad I did it and it’s out of the way now.

“It was such a tough decision, it wasn’t easy telling the guys I was going.

“I have all my family here in Brisbane and I have good mates at the Broncos, so there were a few things I had to weigh up.

“There is some relief, I am glad the decision has been made and I can focus on playing football now.

“I don’t have to worry anymore about where I’m going, my main focus is to play good footy for the Broncos and it’s important I finish on a good note with the club.”

Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy meeting with Brisbane Broncos winger Xavier Coates at a Gold Coast cafe last December.

The Storm have a knack of signing discards and emerging players at rival clubs and taking them to another level in Melbourne‘s famed system under super coach Craig Bellamy.

Coates’ Queensland teammate last year, Brenko Lee, was on the verge of quitting the sport completely when he received a lifeline from Melbourne last year and ended up winning a premiership and making his Origin debut.

Tigers reject Addo-Carr and former wingers Sisa Waqa, Suliasi Vunivalu and Marika Koroibete are other examples of players who became backline sensations at the Storm.

Now, Coates is hoping to maximise his potential at the Storm, revealing the opportunity to be mentored by Bellamy was a factor in his decision.

“Being coached by Craig was an attraction,” he said.

“In saying that the NRL has a lot of good coaches. ‘Kevvie’ (Walters) has been good for me, but I’m looking forward to getting better as a player at the Storm.

“A big thing with the Storm is they get the best out of players.

“I do love the Broncos a lot and they gave me a chance, but when it came down to the final call, I am comfortable in choosing Melbourne.”

Storm halfback Jahrome Hughes and Coates will be Melbourne teammates next year.

The Storm have a specific recruitment formula they use when identifying players of interest. Like an NRL version of Moneyball, it is a formula that stands the test of time for the Storm, who pride themselves on turning good players into great ones.

Melbourne recruitment chief Paul Bunn, who has helped recruit more than 30 players to play NRL at the Storm, said their formula gave Coates the green light.

“It’s a wonderful result for us,” Bunn said.

“Every report we got said Xavier is an outstanding young man.

“We knew about him through Matty Geyer (former Storm winger), he coached him as a kid on the Gold Coast and he has been promoting him since Xavier was 14.

“We needed to replace (Josh) Addo-Carr and Xavier was the best option on the market in our eyes.”

Broncos teammate Tevita Pangai Jnr said losing Coates, who has scored 14 tries from 26 NRL games, was a setback for Brisbane‘s development system.

“It was a blow losing ‘X’, but I can understand why he would leave to play at a club like Melbourne,” he said.

Coates says the opportunity to be mentored by Craig Bellamy (right) was too good to pass up. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

“Being coached by Craig Bellamy is an attraction and I understand that, but it‘s pretty sad because we have lost some great kids like David Fifita, Reece Walsh and Xavier.

“But he is still a Bronco until October and Xavier wants to show why a club like the Storm is willing to sign him.”

Walters said he isn’t sure why Coates walked out on Brisbane, but challenged him to step up against Addo-Carr, the man he will replace, on Thursday night.

“That’s something you have to ask Xavier,” Walters said when asked if Coates chose Melbourne because of their system.

“He has a big task against Addo-Carr.

“Xavier is up for the challenge, he likes the big occasion and in our last meeting in round four in Melbourne, he gave a good account of himself so we expect something similar from him.

“Xavier is one of our key players.”