NRL 2020: Craig Bellamy on Grand Final chair kick, coaching box blow-ups
He gets his blood pressure checked twice a year while dealing with the stress and strain of coaching but Craig Bellamy has revealed why he is powerless to stop his infamous box blow-ups.
NRL
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Craig Bellamy knows what people are saying about his grand final coaching box blow-up on Sunday night.
“I looked like a dickhead,” the Storm supercoach says.
TV footage of Bellamy kicking over a chair as the Panthers came storming back into the game has gone viral on social media.
Storm halfback Jahrome Hughes had been sin binned with 10 minutes to go as the Panthers scored a try.
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Then Brandon Smith was binned and Nathan Cleary scored a try, leading to Bellamy’s blow-up as he walked to the back of the ANZ Stadium coaches box and let rip on the empty chair.
“I’ve done it a few times and the TV cameras get me every time,” Bellamy said.
“It’s frustration, it’s pressure and it’s emotion. There’s no hiding from it.
“Things started falling apart and I lost it. I haven’t seen it on TV but everyone’s telling me about it. I look like a bit of a dickhead taking it out on the chair.”
Bellamy and his coaching box rage has become legendary over the years.
No other NRL coach, even the Canberra Raiders’ Ricky Stuart, gets as worked up during games. He gets his blood pressure checked twice a year while dealing with the stress and strain of coaching.
“I don’t like it but it’s just letting the emotion out,” he said. “I cool down pretty quickly.”
Bellamy is still on the Sunshine Coast conducting end-of-season reviews in the next two days.
Then it’s off to the Gold Coast to see his daughter for a fortnight and weigh up the options for his future.
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“I’ll relax for the next couple of weeks then make a decision,” Bellamy said. “I need some time to relax.
“Whatever happens, I’ll certainly be coaching at the Storm next year.”
The Brisbane Broncos are still desperately chasing the four-time premier coach to work as a director of coaching above Kevin Walters.
Yet he is fiercely loyal to Melbourne Storm and chairman Matt Tripp.
“It’s been a long year and I need a break,” Bellamy said.
“I’d say in a month’s time I’ll be ready to make a decision.”
SPRAYS AND SWIPES
Alastair Clarkson: The Hawthorn supercoach punched a hole in the MCG coaches box wall during a 2012 match against Collingwood.
John Kosmina: The Adelaide United coach grabbed the throat of Kevin Muscat when the Victory skipper bowled him over as he collected a ball. Kosmina was banned for four matches.
Des Hasler: The Manly coach ripped a door off its hinges after delivering a fiery halftime team talk at Parramatta Stadium in 2010.
Michael Cheika: The former Waratahs and Wallabies coach accidentally smashed a glass door after storming out of his coach’s box at Canberra Stadium in 2014.
Nathan Brown: The then St George Illawarra coach slapped his star playmaker Trent Barrett while delivering a sideline spray during a match against Manly in 2003.